Kyuubi no Nekomata
by DarkxPrince
Summary: Halfway through his training trip Naruto disappears leaving only his forehead protecter behind. Where could he have gone and with whom?
1. Chapter 1

Before I begin I'd like to say that the basic story line goes to Crazyfoxdemon. Without his permission, there would have been no story, so that credit goes to him. Everything else goes to me, save for the characters that appear. So read on!

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Within Kumogakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Clouds), two figures were fighting against each other. They were both wearing the same type of armor, with only two differences. One was clearly a male with bright spiky yellow hair, the color of his armor was red and upon the left shoulder the head of a fox was displayed. The other was clearly female since her black armor did nothing to hide that fact. She had long blonde hair in a single ponytail, as well has the head of a cat displayed on the left shoulder. These two were the best Kumo had to offer, respected by few and feared by all.

Their sparring, however, was more like watching two people dance…a deadly dance, but a dance none the less. At first glance a passerby may think that the two were trying to kill each other. But as one continued to watch this dance, they could see that the two were in prefect harmony with each other. When the male swung his katana, the female would block with her scythe. When the female attacked, the male would block; attacking, blocking all done to some unheard beat. Even their animal features added to the elegance of this spar; him with his nine fox tails and she with her two cat tails, each with ears of their respected animal poking out of their hair.

While blonde boy in the red armor was known by many names; yet to few, he was known as Naruto Namikaze; son of the Konoha's Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. His sparring partner, his future wife, was known as Yugito Nii; daughter of the Yondaime Raikage. One would wonder, though, why someone who was born from Konoha would be living in Kumo. The answer was simple…he left his village. Why did he leave the village that his father gave his life to protect? Because the entire village, save for a very select few, hated him to the point where they almost beat him to death.

Not that Kumo was much different after the Godaime Raikage forcibly took control of the village, turning Yugito into the ultimate weapon for the village, and caring nothing about what the villagers had done to her. But that had all changed when the Rokudaime Raikage led a rebellion against the Godaime, succeeding in overthrowing the Godaime to take control. With the new leader in charge the Rokudaime made sure that the villagers understood that harming either of his apprentices would result in death.

Naruto and Yugito had met the Rokudaime during Naruto's travels as a Konoha ninja. Naruto had been out on a two year training trip with his sensei, Jiraiya. It was also during this time that he had first met Yugito. Eventually Yugito asked if he would come back to Kumo with her. At first Naruto didn't accept the offer, but then they met the man who would eventually become the Rokudaime Raikage. He told them that he could help them train in their demonic powers, and make Kumo a batter place. Yugito had asked how he could do that when she noticed the others that had come with him. One was a tall blonde that held some kind of two-pronged spear; another was wearing all black armor, two red phoenix feathers attached to the helm and holding an X-shaped weapon with the blade of a halberd on the four ends; while the last one was a female wearing a two piece purple dress that left her stomach and right leg exposed, a bladed whip hanging on her belt.

It took some persuasion on Yugito's part to get Naruto to come with her, but he agreed to go with them. And when the six of them took out the Godaime Raikage, with the Rokudaime Raikage taking power, the village prospered under the new rule. But that wasn't the real surprise. What was surprising was the fact that the demon sealed inside of Naruto, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, knew who was training them both. In fact, the Kyuubi had been a follower of his before she came to this world.

The two paused in their match as a Kumo ninja approached them. The chuunin knelt down and said, "The Raikage wishes your presence." With that said the chuunin wasted no time in getting out of the slightly intimidating presence of the couple. Naruto sighed before he and Yugito disappeared in a swirl of red and black flame.

In another training ground, two other warriors were facing off against the other, the large blonde spearman having the time of his life facing off against his opponent. His weapon was a large two-pronged spear called Divine Mandible. His name was Keiji Maeda, one of the strongest warriors in all of Japan. The other warrior stood opposite him, the long phoenix feathers swaying in the wind. His weapon, Sky Piercer, was held in front of him as if ready to block any attack. He was Lu Bu, the strongest warrior in all of China; none were able to stand against his might! And yet because of this, he craved for the day he would be able to have a decent opponent that would provide him with a decent fight. And that's what Lu Bu enjoyed about this spar, it was _challenging_. True he had yet even begun to become tired, but Keiji made for a very decent opponent.

Not to far away was the beauty known as Diao Chan, watching her Lord Lu Bu spar. It brought a smile to her face knowing that her lord was finally getting the challenge he so desired. She had feared that being sent to this strange new world would cause her lord to search out new opponents to face to test his might. And yet, because _he_ was sent here with them, she feared even more that something horrible would befall her beloved Lu Bu. But the things she feared did not come to pass; she was content on staying by her beloved's side.

She had wondered why Zuo Ci had sent her, Lu Bu, Keiji and…_him_, to this world. Why would they need to be sent from the world _he _created, to this strange new one? What would be so important that the wise sage would find it necessary to send the four of them? What would warrant the strongest warriors needing to be sent? Well, at least _he_ wasn't cruel to the village of Kumo as he had been when he merged China and Japan together. Or was that just the cruelty of those that followed him? Men, like Dong Zhou, who cared for nothing save for their riches and women? It didn't matter, she supposed as long as her lord Lu Bu was safe and was happy.

Lu Bu and Keiji stopped their spar as a chuunin messenger knelt before the two warriors. Lu Bu turned to face the chuunin and growled out, "What is it, vermin?" Why must these idiots interrupt his decent fight?

"R-raikage-s-sama, w-wishes y-your p-presence." The message delivered, the chuunin disappeared. Many a messenger had learned the hard way not to anger him.

Diao Chan walked over to stand beside Lu Bu, "Then we should get going. You know he doesn't like it if we're late." Lu Bu and Keiji nodded in response, and the three of them headed for the Raikage's Tower.

When they arrived in the office of the Raikage, they found a meeting already taking place. Naruto and Yugito were already there, along with the Raikage's scantly clad advisor. They also noticed two other people in the room, one a pale faced man who was the leader of Oto, Orochimaru himself. The other was a teen no older then Naruto, with dark black hair that spiked out behind his head. He was Sasuke Uchiha, self proclaimed avenger and traitor to Konoha. Lu Bu took a few seconds to look over Sasuke and Orochimaru and growled out, "What are these vermin doing here?"

Sasuke clenched his teeth in barely suppressed anger. How dare anyone call him vermin?! He was an Uchiha, damn it! The best clan to ever live! There were none that could stand against the might of an Uchiha! And yet this…loser was calling him vermin! How dare this trash not show him the proper respect all Uchiha are shown. His anger continued to boil until lightning sprang to life in his left hand. He was prepared to show this weakling who insulted him just _who_ he was messing with when something caught his hand. He turned to look into the slitted eyes of Naruto. Sasuke's anger only increased, how dare this…idiot and loser stop him. Naruto tightened his grip on Sasuke's wrist forcing Sasuke to dissipate the lightning.

Before anything else could happen, the Raikage's advisor spoke up, "You've all been summoned here to discus the up coming Chuunin Exams and the fall of Konoha." Her voice was filled with giddiness, plans churning in her mind to further the goal of _her_ Raikage-sama.

--

Within the great Konohagakure no Sato (Hidden Leaf Village), the Godaime Hokage was not having a good day… or the last couple of years for that matter. The village's council had, on more then one occasion, tried to get her to label Naruto as a missing-nin when he disappeared. So far she had managed to foil their attempts, mainly because the council had to have a unanimous vote. Luckily with some of the Clan Heads not hating Naruto, the council couldn't come to a unanimous vote. Since that hadn't worked one of the more powerful members of the council, Danzou, tried to have tracker ninja sent after Naruto. She knew that she couldn't continue to prevent Danzou from carrying that out, but luckily for her, Jiraiya was able to convince the council to let him deal with finding Naruto.

Jiraiya had later told her that none of the best tracker toads that he had summoned was able to pick up the scent. She had then sent out Kakashi to help Jiraiya, and they were on the mission for several weeks. When they had returned, Kakashi said that his nin-dogs couldn't pick up one scent. He had reported that the dogs smelled a high amount of snake scent. At first she had thought that Orochimaru got to Naruto when Jiraiya wasn't around, so she sent Jiraiya to work on his spy network to found out what he could find. That, however, turned out to be a dead end as well. After a couple years of not finding anything, many of the villagers were starting to celebrate Naruto's disappearance.

What pissed her off was that she couldn't punish the villagers without risking her title of Hokage. How could those biased bastards only see the demon? How could they not see that Naruto was not the fox that he held within him? Well, at least the other genin that had gone to the academy with Naruto didn't see that. Even if much of the younger generation took after their parents and didn't like Naruto, there were some that didn't hate him. And it was those friends that took Naruto's disappearance the hardest.

Neji, Lee, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, Ino and Chouji trained under the sensei more then they had in the past. But none worked harder then Sakura and Hinata did. Sakura took to the medic-nin training as if her life depended on it. Hinata trained even harder in the Hyuga family form of fighting, but she also did extra training that had not been seen since her mother was still an active ninja. All in all Tsunade knew that these three teams were going to pass the upcoming Chuunin Exams.

That was another thing that was worrying her. Jiraiya's spy network had heard rumors that Iwa, Oto and Kumo all joined together to make an alliance. Normally this wouldn't be unheard of in the shinobi world, but because the alliance was made with Oto she had to be careful. She wouldn't put it pass Orochimaru to attack Konoha again during the Chuunin Exams. It was the reason why she had to cut down on the number of missions the village's shinobi went on, so that she could increase the security to make sure no one got in that wasn't supposed to. But even so, she knew that with all of the genin coming from different villages, there would be someone that would go unnoticed. Regardless of what happened there really was only one thought that plagued her mind, _"Be safe, Naruto. Where ever you are."_

--

Six figures on horseback rode toward the great gates of Konoha. Leading them was a male in blood red armor, riding upon a red horse. To his right was a female in form-fitting black armor upon a black horse. On his left was a male who was wearing white robes with a little green mixed in, riding on a white horse; held in his hand was a fan made out of feathers. Behind these three was another male in black armor, riding on a red horse as well. To his right was a female on a white horse and across from her was a tall blonde male on a black horse.

As they passed through the gates of Konoha one would have expected them to slow down, but they didn't. The six riders never slowed down their speed even as they entered the village. Luckily no one was hurt, the villagers were either pushed to the side of the streets or the horse was forced to jump over them. The six horses reeled back as they came to a halt in front of the Ninja Academy where the participants for the exam were gathering. They dismounted and walked into the building.

When they entered the room, every single ninja turned around to face them. Lu Bu and Keiji were looking over the other participants, though Lu Bu wasn't impressed. It didn't appear that any of these _vermin_ would give a decent fight. Keiji just couldn't wait until he could fight these people, just thinking about it got his blood pumping. Zhuge Liang used his fan to cool himself off as dozens of strategies went through his mind. Naruto's eyes scanned the crowd looking for a certain group of ninja that he knew were there, and he found them all standing together in a corner. All of his former classmates and comrades were there, save for Shikamaru who had already made it to chuunin.

His former comrades were staring right back at him and his teammates. It didn't surprise him that they didn't recognize him, but that really didn't matter. None of them changed all that much. Though Hinata Hyuga did surprise him the most. She was wearing a lavender colored top that extended into a dress stopping below her knees. Over that she wore ANBU style breast armor, along with vambraces attached to gloves as well as knee high boots. On her back she carried a quiver, and in her hand she held a bow. The bow itself was a re-curve in style; however it had a total of four blades, two on top and two on the bottom, attached to the sides of the bow.

As Naruto continued to stare into her eyes, he could have sworn that she recognized him, but he wasn't sure. Hinata was really the only one that acknowledged him when he had lived in Konoha. Looking back, he saw the similarities between how she acted around him and how Yugito started to act around him after he had gotten to know her more. Though Yugito blushed more then she fainted, still the similarities were there. And despite what others may think about him, he wasn't as dumb as he looked back when he first made genin. He had learned early in his life that when he succeeded in something, the villagers increased the beatings they gave him. So he hid his talent and let them believe him the fool.

But he stopped all of that when the great kitsune sealed within him started to train him. The first thing she told him was how she came to be in this world. Apparently she was summoned here, by whom she could not remember save that he had blood red eyes with comma marks. Then she explained how she had first met the Raikage, when the two of them created one world out of two different worlds. Once the history lesson was over, she started to train him in using his demonic chakra, or youki. The training only increased when he himself became the kitsune lord, the same happened with Yugito when she became the neko mistress.

Part of him was glad that his friends were alright; even if he's a Kumo Nin, he never stopped believing that his former classmates were his friends. Part of him was uncertain that he could follow the plan that Iwa, Oto, and Kumo had set up for the Chuunin Exams. Even if the villagers never treated him right, this was a place filled with memories and he wasn't sure if he could destroy those memories. But that didn't matter now. Deciding to be friendly and try to catch up before the start of the exam, Naruto walked over to them.

The Konoha nin looked at him strangely as he approached them. He was a few feet away from standing in front of Hinata when Neji blocked his path. The Hyuga glared at him and said, "What is it you want, Kumo."

Naruto smirked before saying, "Is that anyway to say hi to an old friend."

That's when the Konoha nin took notice of the whisker marks on his cheeks, his bright blonde hair and his crystal blue eyes. All of their eyes widened when they realized just who was standing in front of them. Hinata was the first one to speak, "N-naruto-k-kun?"

Hinata couldn't believe it. Her long time crush was standing in front of her. She had always known, always believed that he was alive and well. Where others had lost faith, and worse _prayed_ that he wasn't fine or that he had died, she never stopped believing, never stopped praying that he was safe and would return to her one day. And here he was standing in front of her, HER! It almost made her faint, but she had gotten over that a few years ago. So instead she settled for a full body blush as she took note of Naruto's armor. It really wasn't her fault that she noticed how his blood red armor defined each and every muscle. Nor was it her fault for the less then pure thoughts running through her head about just _how much _he had grown.

Sakura, predictably, was the next one to react. The pink haired medic-nin clenched her fist and slowly walked over to Naruto. When she was within striking distance, she raised her fist and swung. She didn't expect him to catch her fist; considering she had put chakra into that strike, it should have at least broken Naruto's hand. But what surprised her even more was the fact that it appeared that the strike didn't even affect him.

"Did you think, Sakura, that I would allow you to hit me as in the past?" Naruto asked. "If you did," he tightened his gripe on her hand, the clawed points of the gauntlets digging into Sakura's hand, "then you were mistaken." His voice was laden with venom.

Sakura tried to sputter out an apology, while she healed the miniscule wounds on her hand. Hinata came out of her stupor enough to glare at the pink haired medic. They had been reunited with Naruto for no more then ten _seconds_, and already Sakura was trying to hit him. Rare anger boiled over and she herself hit Sakura over the head for trying to hit Naruto. This, of course, stunned all of the Konoha teams; they had never seen Hinata do something like that. Sure to her enemies she was a force to be reckoned with, but to her friends she had always been kind and caring. Still, what Sakura had done just got to her.

However, Hinata wanted to tell him…to _show_ him that she cared. She had dreamed of doing this, but whenever she tried to tell Naruto how she felt either something would happen to distract him or she fainted. But not this time, this time she would tell him just how much she cared. She calmly walked over to him, her lips moving to form the words but her voice failed her. So instead she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, her bow clattering to the floor as her arms wrapped around his neck. Nothing else mattered to her at the moment; nothing else existed at the moment. All that mattered, all that existed…was her and Naruto, and it was pure bliss.

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So, how about that for a rewrite? No I would like to say this now, this story will be a crossover with the game, Warriors Orochi. Which in turn is a crossover game of Samurai/Dynasty Warriors, so don't be surprissed if other characters appear, though there won't be many. So with that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you next chapter and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I had writting it.

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He leaned against his elbow, the she-demon lying next to him on the bed. Her nine red tails wrapped around his waist preventing him from getting up and pulling him closer to her. His free hand gently running through her purple hair, unbound from its usual braids. How amusing it was, to see the she-demon act like her old self. How she had immediately clung to his side as soon as she was freed from the seal. He had to admit, he was impressed by the seal that had held her back. No mortal would have been able to free her, but then he wasn't mortal. He was Orochi, God of Serpents. The Shinigami (death god) was nothing to him.

Or perhaps that was because he had escaped from the underworld once before. After Susanoo had 'killed' him, he was condemned to the lowest pits of hell. But the Shinigami had underestimated his godly powers. Summoning the scythe, _shounetsu,_ to his side he challenged and defeated the Shinigami. But that had only been the beginning of what would become a long journey. Even after beating the Shinigami, it did not set him free from the underworld, from the torment that is hell. He was powerful, but it was nothing compared to his beastly form. What he had not realized at the time was that by defeating the Shinigami, Orochi took its place.

So the tortured souls came to him, challenging him but none could beat him. He knew that word spreads even in death, so he had wondered why so many souls came to be sliced by _shounetsu_'sblade. Then perhaps these souls saw a way to end their suffering early, but he cared not for what happened to them. After years, centuries, or millennium, time was never easy to calculate in Izanmi's domain, he had gathered enough power to escape and return to 'life'. But it appeared that the goddess of death, Izanami, was against him, stripping him of much of his powers; his white hair turning black, ashen skin turning a dark purple, and finally his black armor taking on a mix between blue and green. If that was not enough he soon found himself in a land different yet similar to his own. It would have taken years, millennium even, to return to his former strength and glory. Or at least, it would have had he not found the she-demon beaten and battered outside of a village.

He had been ready with _shounetsu_ to send the she-demon back to hell. The blade was poised at her neck but when she had looked into his multi-colored eyes, he asked "What was it that has condemned you to this fate?"

The she-demon's face twisted into a playful pout, "Is it so wrong, to find pleasure in other people's screams?" Perhaps it was the pout, or perhaps it was what was said, either way he removed _shounetsu_'s blade from her neck. Finding refuge in a nearby cottage, he returned her to health. And she, repaying the rare kindness that he had shown, pledged her heart and body to him.

At that moment he was reminded of the kitsune of his own land, of how they would take female form and seduce men. Because of this, he had never returned the advances that the vixen had made, though it tried his patience more then once. Eventually they had gathered enough power to enact their plan, or rather his plan…to test the might of humanity. They combined their homelands, China and Japan, into one new world. Once that was done, they tested the strength of the Kingdoms of Shu, Wei, Wu and the legendary Samurai.

Humanity's strength was shown when the warriors of these kingdoms refused to bow to his rule. And once again he underestimated the strength of men when they defeated him. After his 'death', Da Ji being the she-demon that she was, disappeared. However, perhaps luck was on his side, when Zuo Ci transported him and three other warriors to a new land…or was it far into the future of the world he had created? It didn't matter, Zuo Ci told them to find and train Naruto and Yugito. But by doing that the old hermit had given him a second chance at creating a new empire.

He had been a bit surprised when he learned that Da Ji had been summoned to this world. He had always thought her the vixen, and the first time he had seen her beastly form behind the seal, he knew she was of the kitsune of his own land. But he cared not for her form, he needed his strategist so he freed her from the cage that held her. Then along with Da Ji, he started to train Naruto, and perhaps it was during this time that he had started to return the feelings that Da Ji had felt towards him. He knew that some of his personality had rubbed off on Naruto, just like Naruto could change whoever he meets for the better. Orochi was still cold, calculating and impassive, but when it came to the vixen…well, she lived up to the legends.

He felt her stir from her slumber, though considering what they had done the night before he fully expected her to be sleeping the entire day. It must have been her regenerative powers. Her tails loosened their grip, but did not remove themselves from his waist, allowing her to turn around to face him. He chuckled softly, as her slender arms wrapped around his neck, "You try my patience, young dame."

The young vixen's face twisted into a playful pout, "Is it my fault that Orochi-sama seems stressed? Is it my fault that I wish to help relieve that stress?" She giggled softly, her arms already pulling him down.

"Then entertain me, dame. What is it that you have planned for Konoha?" He asked her.

She pouted; this wasn't what was supposed to happen. Still she giggled thinking back on the plans she had made. "Well, Konoha is arrogant and believes that because they won the last Great Shinobi War, none can stand against them." She paused here to nuzzle under his chin. "So with the combined might of Kumo, Iwa, Oto and the covert Kiri Swordsmen, Konoha will fall." She giggled as images of a burning Konoha drifted through her mind.

He too, let out a soft chuckle, but he worried about what Naruto would do. He knew that Naruto wasn't very happy about the plan, but then Naruto didn't object to it either. Orochi knew that Naruto was loyal, more so to the people he considers precious to him. So perhaps then, Orochi could offer those people a place in Kumo. The only problem would be if the Konoha nin would want to work in Kumo. So perhaps then it would be better to capture Naruto's precious people and get them to join after the invasion was over. Or it would just be better to let Naruto deal with his old friends, and do with them as he pleased. But he cared not for what Naruto would do, so long as he was able to further his goal.

--

Well this was unexpected, Naruto thought as he continued to kiss the Hinata. One of her hands wandered up to his fox ears and started to rub them. He purred into the kiss, his hands snaking out to encircle her waist. His nine tails mimicking what his hands were doing, drawing her closer to him. He could feel the small spike of killer intent coming from Yugito, and in all truth Naruto couldn't blame her.

Originally he was just going to take a few of his former classmates with him to Kumo once the plan was done. But now, now he wasn't so sure that he just wanted to take Hinata with him just to protect her. True, they had rarely been together, rarely even talked to each other, but Naruto knew she was always kind to him. Whether it was silent encouragement or someone to talk to, Hinata had always been there. Always believed in him, never once doubted that he couldn't do what he said he could do.

And yet he had been so focused on his childish crush on Sakura that he never took notice of Hinata. In his childish innocence, Sakura had been the prettiest girl, and he figured if he could get the prettiest girl to like him then the villagers wouldn't be so mean to him. Even when Sakura constantly hit him over the head whenever he asked her about something, stating that he was "Ruining her time with Sasuke-kun", he never stopped trying. _He_ had saved Sakura from Gaara during their first Chuunin Exam, and yet she goes and thanks Sasuke. Like that bastard could stand up against a demon container; in fact _he_ had saved Sasuke during that same fight. AND WHAT DID HE GET!

He got nothing save the cold stares of the villagers, as if _he_ was the reason the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi, had fallen to Orochimaru's attack. As if _he _was the reason why Sasuke left the village. But then he was always the scapegoat wasn't he? It was the reason the villagers had always beaten him? Because they had no one else to blame so they turned to him and unleashed their anger in the form of a beating. And yet had he not proven to the worthless villagers that he was loyal to Konoha each and every time he saved it or his teammates? He had enough if it, it was time to show these ignorant fools what happens when you force something on someone else. And he was going to do it, with both Hinata and Yugito at his side.

With the sudden need for air, he pulled away from Hinata, though her hands remained rubbing his ears, and it took all of his power not to purr _too_ loudly. However, judging from the hiss, or was that a growl, of anger, he failed to do so. He leaned forward, resting his head on her shoulder. He leaned into her touch, purring louder as the pleasurable sensation overwhelmed him. Through the pleasure induced haze, Naruto was unable to see the fist coming at him until it hit him in the face, the force of the blow knocking him backwards onto the ground. He looked up, blue eyes bleeding red, to see that Kiba was the one who had hit him.

Naruto growled, clawed hands clenching and unclenching. "Do you not know who I am, mutt? I _am_ the Kyuubi no Kitsune, leader of the Kitsune Youkai Clan," he said rising to his feet. He strode forward, reaching around Hinata to grab Kiba around the neck. He pulled Kiba closer, whispering into his ear, "You better remember that." Naruto brought up his knee into Kiba's gut and dropped him to the floor.

Kiba growled as he picked himself up off of the floor. He was already pissed that Hinata had kissed Naruto. Damn it, she was supposed to be with him! When Naruto had disappeared, he had celebrated with the rest of the village…though for far different reasons. He was happy because with the blonde gone, he could get Hinata for himself. He could make her see that he was better and far stronger then that loser ever would be. And if she didn't accept it, well then he would just have to beat her until she submitted. Kiba shot up, charging at the kitsune lord, ignoring his canine instincts that told him to submit, only to find himself sailing through the air. He saw red as he once again rose from the floor, or at least tried to, if not for the boot that dug into his back.

"Will you not learn your place, _mutt_?" Naruto's voice was utterly calm, save for the small amount of anger held within. Naruto hooked his foot under Kiba's stomach and tossed him across the room, where he was caught by a net of bugs. Shino calmly walked over to his teammate to make sure nothing else happened that would cause the team to be disqualified.

Hinata was still flushed from her kiss with Naruto. She still couldn't believe she had actually done that. Yes, she had always dreamed of doing it but she had never had the self-confidence to go through with it. A small spike of killing intent forced Hinata out of her train of thought; she glanced over and locked eyes with Naruto's female teammate. She looked down and saw a gold band gleaming like a beacon on the black gauntlet. Hinata's frown deepened and she almost wanted to cry. She refrained from doing so and settled on glaring.

As if sensing what Hinata was thinking, Naruto leaned in and whispered into her ear. Hinata's eyes widened. Did he just ask her to… no, she couldn't think like that at the moment. She had to concentrate on the Chuunin Exams. She had to make sure she and her teammates survived so that she could go out with Naruto. No, bad Hinata, focus on the Chuunin Exams! At least she was happy since Naruto could take more then one…damn it! Focus, Hinata, focus! Don't think about that right now. Think about a way to make sure Kiba doesn't kill the one she loves. Then she could worry about what to do for her date that she would be having.

The room filled with the arrival of the proctors for the exams. Standing in front of everyone was a woman wearing a full body mesh-suit, a brown skirt and a tan trench coat. "Alright you maggots! I'm Anko Mitarashi and I'll be the examiner for the exams. Now follow me to the first part of Chuunin Exam!"

--

While the genin teams were being led to where they would begin the Chuunin Exams, Tsunade was waiting at the main gate of Konoha, the entire Konoha Council behind her. The reason they were all waiting there was because she had invited the Rokudaime Raikage earlier then the other village leaders. It was her hope that she would be able to get information on all of the rumors. Or setting up an alliance between Kumo and Konoha, which ever came first.

A carriage approached the gates, though what was pulling the carriage put everyone on edge. Two giant multi-tailed and multi-headed snakes, both of which had three heads and three tails, were pulling the carriage. Da Ji was the first to step out, or rather float out since she was sitting on one of her orbs, her nine tails dangling over the other side. Orochi was the next one to step out, his tall imposing figure looming over the Konoha delegation. Tsunade stepped forward, "Welcome to Konoha, Raikage-sama. I am Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage."

"And you called us here because?" Da Ji asked, leaning forward on her perch. She didn't trust this village, more so after she found that spy trying to get information on Kumo. Oh, she had fun with that interrogation, much fun indeed.

Before Tsunade could answer, Danzou spoke up, "We would like to know just how you managed to become the Rokudaime Raikage." The other members of the Konoha Council nodded their heads in agreement.

Orochi motioned for them to lead the way to a more private place to talk. While they walked to the council's chambers, the curious stares of the villagers hounded them. Orochi ignored them but Da Ji glared right back at them. She wouldn't forgive this village for what each and every villager did to her former container, Naruto. Yes, she would enjoy razing this village to the ground. Just the mere thought of what would happen caused her to giggle in giddiness.

With the entire council seated around the table, Da Ji took her normal position standing to the right of Orochi. Calculating her words, Da Ji spoke first, "Tell me, what do you think happened to Uzumaki Naruto?"

One brave, or foolish, civilian councilmember spoke up, "How does that demon have anything to do with your raise to power?"

Da Ji leveled the councilman a piercing glare and said, "Everything, for you see that the coup d'etat would not have been possible without the young _Namikaze's_ help."

This time it was the Sandaime's old teammate, Koharu, who spoke up, "You dare imply a connection between our beloved Yondaime Hokage and that demon filth!"

"Hold your tongue," Orochi said calmly, his voice booming throughout the chamber. "Humanity, how it continues to amuse me. None of this council was able to tell the similarities between the two?" His voice remained utterly calm, but held an undertone of amusement. "Humanity's ignorance and arrogance know no bounds does it?"

With a small wave of his hand Orochi motioned Da Ji to continue, and so the vixen spun her tale. She told the council of how they found both Naruto and Yugito together while Naruto's sensei, Jiraiya, was not around. She told them of how Naruto was persuaded to join them in journeying to Kumo. Da Ji told of some of Naruto's training that he went through under her. She didn't want to reveal the fact that Naruto was now leader of the demonic foxes; it wouldn't do for all of the little facts to get out all at once. Of course, she also left out who she really was and the fact that there were only three other warriors that helped them. Let the fools believe whatever they want to believe, it all worked to her advantage anyway.

Her tale done, she waited for the reactions of the council. One very brave or very idiotic councilman spoke up once again, "Hokage-sama we demand that the demon be returned to us!" Various other shouts followed demanding that Naruto be returned to the village.

"Idiocy… do not test my patience, mortals. If any of you harm my apprentice, you shall taste my blade." Orochi's left hand came forward, grabbing _shounetsu_ as it appeared in front of him. The duel colored jewel at the base of the blade glowing slightly, as if piercing into the council's souls. And many of the council had just felt as if the Shinigami has judged them.

--

It couldn't have been any easier, Lu Bu thought as he continued to watch his team's campsite. Daio Chan was curled up next to him, her head resting comfortably on his chest. Keiji was leaning against a tree, his head down in slumber. Their _captive_ was bound, gagged and unconscious, simply lying on the ground. Their mission for the first part of the exam was to capture a chuunin proctor and then return to the tower in the middle of what was called the 'Forest of Death'.

But he cared not about this _simple_ test. No, what he was thinking about was the beautiful dancer that was currently curled up by his side. He couldn't deny that he didn't have feelings for her. She had always been by his side, no matter what battle they went into, no matter what land they traveled to, and no matter what enemy they faced, Diao Chan had always been by his side. And for that, he was eternally grateful. He would never admit it out loud but it was the one thing he craved for above all else. Above the battles that he fought in, above the enemies he fought against, above the challenge of a decent fight… he craved for companionship, or something more. Deep down in his heart, he _knew_ that was what he craved for. The entire world saw a mindless animal that only cared for a good fight, but that's not what he was like and no one cared to look pass it. But that's where Diao Chan was different, she saw through that image. She saw what he really wanted, what he really _needed._ But all of these feelings were new to him. All that had ever mattered was his strength. He was raised to be the ultimate warrior, that's all his father had ever let him do; practice day in and day out. He won, tournament after tournament, battle after battle, none could stop him. And because of that he grew bored with all of the weaklings trying to challenge him, so he stopped. And when his father had found out and tried to force him to return to the tournaments, Lu Bu killed his father.

And for a few years he was quite content on living his life alone and peacefully; that is, until a messenger from a man named Dong Zhou came to his small cottage. Dong Zhou was the type of man that cared for nothing but power, money, and women. And so for a bag of gold and the best horse, Red Hare, Lu Bu was hired to be a part of Dong Zhou's army. It was also the first time he met Diao Chan and it was where everything was turned upside down. That was when the serpent king came, challenged him and beat him. Orochi was the first to _ever_ beat him in one-on-one combat. And because of that Dong Zhou, being the fat bastard and coward that he is, swore allegiance to Orochi and his army. But he cared not for what Dong Zhou did.

He only followed Orochi in a bid to gather his strength, and challenge the serpent king once again. He would have fought Orochi to see if he could come out victorious like he always should have! But that chance had been stolen from him and just as suddenly he, along with Diao Chan, Keiji and Orochi, found themselves in this strange new world. Once again he wanted to travel these lands and test his strength against these _ninja_ he had heard about. But he knew he couldn't, he wouldn't leave Diao Chan alone when he didn't know what may happen to her. He cared too much about her, but that really didn't matter because he knew that Diao Chan could subdue his more… wild side. But he also knew that if she couldn't suppress his urge than she would stand by him like she always had.

But that would hurt her and he had vowed never to do anything that would bring harm to her, whether it be emotional or physical, he couldn't… he wouldn't do that to her. So then why couldn't he show how much he cared about her? What was stopping him from telling her? Who would have thought that the great and mighty Lu Bu was afraid? But he should at least tell her, gently shaking her awake, he whispered, "Diao Chan, there's something I need to tell you."

"Shhh, my beloved, there's no need for words. Rest now my lord, I'll keep watch," Diao Chan said, snaking her arms around his waist. And like that, Lu Bu fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

How was that? So, what did you think of the little background of Orochi and Lu Bu? And before anyone tells me to go to wikipedia and do research on Lu Bu's real history, I know that but for the story just take it in the context of Dynasty Warriors games. So that being said, please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3, Hope you enjoy.

* * *

On the start of the second day of the test, Lu Bu and his team had made it to the tower, a couple of hours later Naruto and his team arrived. On the third day of the test, all three Konoha teams arrived and on the last day, the genin team from Suna arrived. Tsunade, along with Orochi, Da Ji and the entire Konoha council, stood in front the six teams that had made it through. With all of the teams present, they immediately went into the preliminary matches to narrow down who would fight in the final portion of the exam. The matches would be chosen at random, the names of the genins to fight appeared on a giant screen located behind the Konoha council.

When the first two names appeared, Diao Chan versus Tenten, everyone else moved up to the balconies overlooking the arena floor. Jiraiya remained to act as the proctor for the fights, making sure nothing got too out of hand. Jiraiya raised his arm into the air, dropped it down, signaling the start of the match, then jumping out of the way.

Tenten acted first and jumped into the air, unfurling the large scroll she kept attached to her belt and let loose a few dozen kunai and shuriken. Diao Chan unhooked her bladed whip, Moonflower, from her belt and deflected all of the projectiles. As Tenten was still dropping back to the floor, she unsealed a long metal chain. She sent the weighted end into the ground just behind Diao Chan, then using her speed wrapped the chain around her opponent. While Diao Chan was restrained, Tenten let loose more weapons, this time some swords, spears and axes were added to the mix. Diao Chan's wrist twitched and Moonflower wrapped around the chain binding her, sending a small lightning bolt down the length of the chain. The magnetic field not only broke the chain binding Diao Chan but also repelled all of the oncoming weapons.

Overcoming the shock of that bolt quickly, Tenten unleashed more weapons, only these had exploding tags attached to them. Diao Chan blocked them with her whip but she was unprepared for the explosion that followed and was blown into the wall. Diao Chan unsteadily returned to her feet, and charged at Tenten, Moonflower singing into the air deflecting any weapons. Tenten eventually unsealed a katana and parried the whip when it came within striking distance. Diao Chan spun and twirled around Tenten, never stopping, her movements like a dance. The whip wrapped around the katana and Diao Chan hurled it to the other side of the room embedding the blade into one of the walls.

Tenten did her best to get out of range but Diao Chan pressed the attack, giving little time for Tenten to counterattack. Tenten finally had the chance to jump far enough away and tossed the scroll she was holding up into the air. The giant scroll unrolled itself and with a loud cry of "Sougu: Tensasai! (Tool Manipulation: Heavenly Chain Disaster)", hundreds upon hundreds of weapons rained down upon Diao Chan.

Diao Chan started to spin around, and with a shout of "Raikou no Tate! (Shield of Lightning)", an electrical field surrounded her. The huge cloud of dust caused by all of the weapons landing blinded everything from view. When the dust settled, Diao Chan could be seen standing in the middle of the newly formed field of weapons, panting heavily since the technique she used took a lot out of her. Tenten was in a similar state, her own technique more of a last resort then anything else.

Up in the balconies, Lu Bu's knuckles turned white as he gripped the railing. He had faith that Diao Chan would win the match, but even so he still worried about her. It took all of his will power not to jump down there and intervene. He had a feeling that Diao Chan would unleash her musou gate. The musou gate was similar in a way to the hachimon, or eight inner gates, in that it increased one's strength and speed. However, unlike the hachimon, when the user can maintain that power so long as the fighter has the skill and endurance, the musou gate will only last a few seconds depending on one's strength. And Lu Bu knew that if Diao Chan used the musou gate, she would either win the match or she would be too exhausted to do anything else.

Lu Bu gripped Sky Piercer tighter as he watched the yellow aura that signaled the release of the musou gate surround Diao Chan. He watched as Diao Chan charged, watched Tenten pick up a discarded spear and rush forward. He watched as the two traded blows, each trying to get through the other's defense. He watched as Diao Chan's speed decreased, and Lu Bu knew that the next few seconds would decide the entire match. The aura around Diao Chan disappeared and Moonflower was forced out of her hand. Tenten took this opportunity and thrust the spear forward with Diao Chan backpedaling as fast as she could. The sound of metal against metal was heard and the spear that Tenten was holding broke in half, for imbedded into the floor in front of Diao Chan was Sky Piercer, courtesy of Lu Bu.

Diao Chan toppled over, exhaustion getting the better of her, only to be caught by Lu Bu as he landed behind her. Hooking one arm behind her back and the other under her legs, Lu Bu lifted Diao Chan and held her close to his chest. Tenten used what little chakra she had left to reseal all of her weapons back into the scroll as Jiraiya declared her the winner. Naruto retrieved Sky Piercer as well as Moonflower, and set the weapons down next Diao Chan as Lu Bu gently lowered her to the floor of the balcony. He remained there by her side, ignoring the next three matches. The three genin from Suna were still exhausted from their time in the forest, allowing Sakura, Kiba and Hinata to end the matches fairly quickly.

The next match that was called was Zhuge Liang against Shino Aburame. Shino was surrounded by a cloud of bugs as the kikaichu swarmed out from under his coat. Zhuge Liang extended his fan, several feathers shooting out like bullets through the air. The feathers tore through Shino, only for him to turn into a cloud of kikaichu bugs. The swarm of kikaichu flew at Zhuge Liang; he in response flicked his fan and erected a barrier of pure wind. Within his mind Zhuge Liang was going over several strategies that could help him win. He knew he was at a disadvantage, even though his fan allowed him to manipulate the wind around him, it would only do so much against a swarm of bugs.

Zhuge Liang jumped to the side to avoid the fist that came from behind him. With another twitch of his fan, dozens of feathers flew at Shino. The kikaichu created a spinning dome around Shino, causing the feathers to harmlessly bounce off. "Arekuruukaze (Raving Wind)!" Zhuge Liang said bringing his fan up over his head. The entire arena was filled with billowing winds, the kikaichu scattering unable to maintain the dome against such high winds. Several cuts appeared on Shino's coat as the invisible blades of wind tore through him.

Shino rolled to the side, barely dodging a blast of pure chakra that burst from Zhuge Liang's hand. Shino sent more of his kikaichu at his opponent in the form of stingers. That proved useless as Zhuge Liang once again erected his Kaze no Tate (shield of wind), the stingers dissipated in a cloud of bugs and returned to hover around Shino. Zhuge Liang knew he'd have to finish this soon or he would be defeated. Shino was his exact opposite in that Shino would last longer because he was simply using his kikaichu bugs in his attacks. Zhuge Liang was using his chakra and that drained him of his energy, so he didn't last as long as he should. This put him at a disadvantage; though it was one he knew would be easily overcome. So with that thought in mind, Zhuge Liang tossed his fan up into the air, preparing for one finale attack.

Hundreds of feathers rained down embedding themselves into the floor around Shino. Zhuge Liang shot a single lightning bolt from his hand, the bolt traveled down the feathers, splitting, combining and strengthening as it moved, quickly becoming hundreds of thousands of bolts in power. By the time it reached Shino the attack would have proven fatal, if Shino had not jumped into the air. That only proved to lessen the power behind it as the electricity generated knocked Shino unconscious. Zhuge Liang caught his fan as it dropped back into his hand and dropped to his knees. Jiraiya declared him the winner and he unsteadily returned to the balcony to watch the next match.

Da Ji couldn't contain her happiness. If the Kumo shinobi continued their victories, and they would if she knew their abilities, then everything would be going according to plan. And in the end it would make everything so much simpler. But she wouldn't enjoy it as much if everything goes as planned, because then it would all get too boring. She took some twisted pleasure from things going differently then she thought or had planned out. It made her giddy with happiness when things went to hell. Because then she could play more, and she always liked to play with her foe.

And here, during these exams was no different. She knew Konoha's weaknesses, she knew Kumo's strengths and she had compared the two. What Kumo lacked in numbers, it made up for in skill of its shinobi, while what Konoha lacked in skill it made up for in numbers. The two villages were exact opposites. But all other hidden villages were so intimidated by the fact that Konoha won the Great Shinobi Wars that they never tried to do anything else about it. The same fact made the Konoha shinobi arrogant, causing their skills to dissolve. But for the sake of her Orochi-sama's goals, she would do anything and everything in her power to bring them to fruition.

Therefore she turned to her natural kitsune trickery. This was why she had advised of joining the alliance with Iwa and Oto when Orochimaru came to them. She knew that in the end, Orochi-sama would rule over everything, but their forces were still small and couldn't stand against Konoha in a full scale war. "Let's go crazy!" oh, that was Keiji getting ready for his match. Chouji responded by turning into a giant human boulder.

"Let's play ball!" Keiji shouted as he flipped his spear around and swung the weighted end like a giant bat. Divine Mandible connected and Chouji was sent flying like a thrown ball. Chouji unrolled himself and jumped off the wall. Chouji's arm elongated and enlarged, striking the area where Keiji once stood. Chouji flipped himself and turned into the giant boulder his clan was known for, only this time the large mane of brown hair lengthened and hardened, turning into spikes and surrounding him. Keiji swung the weighted end of Divine Mandible into the floor causing a large and thick slab if earth rose in front of him, stopping Chouji in his tracks. The hair receded and Chouji returned to his normal self.

Chouji's fists expanded and smashed into the wall, shattering it. Chouji rolled to the side as Divine Mandible was thrust into the floor. Keiji continued with the momentum and swung around bringing his leg out in a kick. Chouji caught the kick, spun around and tossed Keiji into the wall, the force of which caused him to loss his grip on Divine Mandible. Keiji kneed Chouji in the gut and followed up with a sweep kick knocking Chouji to the ground. Taking Divine Mandible in hand Keiji thrust the spear at his opponent's head. The blade dug into the ground next to Chouji's head, a small trickle of blood running down Chouji's cheek. Jiraiya called the mach declaring Keiji the winner.

Lu Bu was getting restless, his fist clenching and unclenching in a futile attempt to relieve some of the boredom. The only thing that kept him from shouting out was his concern for Diao Chan, but he knew she just needed her rest and would otherwise be fine. Still, this did nothing to help ease his nerves. He wanted to fight! He wanted to test his strength against all in this room. He wanted to see if anyone was worth the time to fight or at least give an interesting fight. So far he was unimpressed; all of these Konoha vermin were weak, not worth the time. Though perhaps there were some that looked somewhat interesting, though they still wouldn't give him a decent challenge… well at least he wouldn't die of boredom.

The next match that was called was between Yugito and Ino, but Lu Bu paid little attention to it. He already knew who was going to win. True the Yamanaka's mind jutsu were powerful if caught, but they were best suited for interrogation rather then the battlefield. Still they could be just as devastating none the less. But many of the Yamanaka techniques took some time to take affect, their 'shintenshin no jutsu' or mind body change technique, being the slowest. So the best defense against this was agility, and Yugito had all the grace of a cat.

Yugito quickly got behind Ino and sent her flying across the room. Ino flipped herself and landed on her feet before she crashed into the wall. Several kunai flew at Yugito, and the room was filled with the sound of metal hitting metal. In Yugito's hand was a scythe; however it wasn't a standard metal scythe. The scythe appeared to be made out of flesh, giving the appearance that it was mutated. Two large talon-like spikes were attached to it, one at the base of the weapon and one at the top which remained horizontal to the blade along with five smaller spikes under it. "This is _irkalla_, the reaper's tool," Yugito said rising to float in the air, giving the impression of a shinigami. Yugito raised her other hand, a black ball of fire forming, flying at her opponent. Ino dodged the actual ball but was unable to escape the blast that followed. Yugito continued sending fireball after fireball, barely giving Ino time to counterattack.

Up in the balconies Naruto sighed, he knew his wife would get like this. She had always played with her enemy before dealing the finale blow. Normally he would tolerate it, but here in the Chuunin Exams or more importantly in Konoha, she should know better. If they revealed how powerful they really were then everything could be ruined. Or Danzou and his ROOT ANBU would do something they would regret later… that, or Yugito would kill her opponent and that just wouldn't do. "Yugito!" he called out, "Stop playing and end it!" Naruto swore he saw her pout, but nonetheless she did as he said. He supposed that it was Yugito's cat-like nature, or it could be some twisted pleasure, either way she should have known better. The less of their power they showed the less likely Konoha would do something. Though chances were that they would do something to anger him and then everything would be thrown out the window. Not that he would mind, any who stood against him and threatened those he cared about would be dealt with.

Naruto watched as Lu Bu jumped down as his match with Rock Lee was called. Though he found it odd that Lu Bu would leave Sky Piercer next to the resting Diao Chan. As many battles as Lu Bu was in, he always had Sky Piercer with him. Though this fight would be… interesting to say the least. As Naruto remembered, Rock Lee only used taijutsu, or hand to hand combat. Naruto knew too well about Lu Bu's lust for a strong opponent, and he had feared that it would be a problem. Many times on missions, Lu Bu would charge in and start slaughtering anything that stood against him. And the only times when Lu Bu didn't, was when Diao Chan was on the mission as well. So with Diao Chan resting, Naruto knew that Lu Bu would get irritated and wouldn't care who he fought. Lee charged first, fist extended in a punch, Lu Bu didn't move as the fist collided with his chest. Lee jumped in the air and twisted his body around, extending his leg out as he did so. Once again Lu Bu didn't even move, allowing the shoulder guard to take the brunt of the force. His fist shot forward, nailing Lee in the chest and sending him back a few yards. "Come you swine! Is that the best you can do?!" Lu Bu shouted.

In response, Lee removed the weights he kept under the orange leg warmers and disappeared from sight. Lu Bu's only visible reaction was to tilt his head then side stepped to avoid the downward kick by Lee, only to bend backwards to evade the horizontal kick that followed. Lee quickly took hold of Lu Bu's collar, and tossed him into the air. While Lu Bu was still in the air, Lee appeared behind him and used the bandages that were wrapped around his arms to surround and restrain Lu Bu, they then plummeted head first into the floor. Everyone was blinded by the dust cloud the impact caused.

When everyone could see again, they saw Lee standing there along with a giant crater in the floor. There standing in the crater was Lu Bu was, as if the attack never happened, with a small smile on his face, "Finally! Someone at least somewhat interesting!" Lu Bu yelled a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Kyuumon (rest gate): Kai (release)! Seimon (life gate): Kai! Shoumon (wound gate): Kai! Tomon (limit gate): Kai!" Lee yelled releasing the next four hachimon, the first having already been opened on that last attack. Lee's skin turned red in color, a green aura surrounding him. Normally Lee wouldn't resort to using the hachimon in a fight, but he had a feeling he would need it here.

"Humph, you think you're the only one who can do that?" Lu Bu said as he crossed his arms in front of him, "Then come and get some!" The only outward sign that Lu Bu released the same number of the hachimon was the red aura that surrounded him. The two disappeared from sight, only appearing briefly when one blocked an attack from the other. All the onlookers lost sight of the two warriors, the only evidence that there was a fight going on was the occasional crack appearing on the floor, wall, or ceiling.

Having just awoken, Diao Chan walked up to the railing wondering who was fighting. She got her answer when she saw her lord Lu Bu for a brief second before he disappeared again. Like Naruto, she too feared that her beloved's lust for strong opponents would cause a problem during their stay in Konoha. But then again, she was the only one who could keep Lu Bu calm, the only one who could suppress his urges. Those urges must have built up while she was unconscious and now all coming out in this one fight. And while she knew that her lord was unbeatable, she still worried about him. There were many times she feared that Lu Bu wouldn't make it through a fight, mostly when he was surrounded by enemies.

She sucked in her breath as a smoke cloud erupted, fearing what it may reveal. She let out a sigh of relief as the dust settled to reveal Lu Bu unharmed. Their eyes locked, and she gave a small nod with a smile on her face, one that he returned before he disappeared to dodge a punch from Lee. It continued like this for some time, only occasionally would a small crater appear as either Lu Bu or Lee missed their opponent. Though Diao Chan couldn't see the fight, she knew that her beloved would win as he always does. It may take awhile but her lord Lu Bu would always win, no matter how many enemies he fought, no matter the odds against him, he always won.

Diao Chan, along with everyone else, was forced to close their eyes as another much larger dust cloud exploded from the floor. Once the dust finally cleared, Lee was kneeling on the floor, his skin returning to normal signaling that he closed the hachimon. Over in the giant crater, Lu Bu was picking himself up off of the floor, the red aura slowly fading away. Without another word the two charged at each other, their fists locking as they caught the other's punch, "I shall not lose!" Lee yelled, pushing against Lu Bu and trying to drive him back.

"Don't push your luck!" Lu Bu yelled, a yellow aura exploding outwards from him. With the added strength from the release of the musou gate, Lu Bu was able to throw Lee away and into the wall. As Lee was trying to recover he was hit in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Lu Bu grabbed the spandex clad teen and tossed him across the room.

Lee jumped away as Lu Bu's fist collided with the wall, burying it up to the elbow. Lee tried to attack, but Lu Bu blocked all of the attempts before kicking Lee away. Concrete shattered and broke as Lu Bu ripped his arm free of the wall. The two charged at each other, when they were within striking distance their fists shot forward. Lee was stroke across the face sending him flying, unfortunately for Lee the force of the impact knocked him unconscious, "Was that the best you could do? Well, I'll admit it had its interesting moments," Lu Bu said, even as he was declared the winner.

The last fight was to be Naruto against Neji, a rematch from the last Chuunin Exams. Still everyone from Konoha was wondering just how much Naruto had grown in strength. "Do not think, because we were once comrades, that I will go easy," Neji said, the veins around his eyes bulging out, adding to the glare that was already there.

Naruto, for his part was unaffected by the glare, a soft chuckle escaping from his lips, "It's funny, Neji," Naruto replied, "I was going to say the same thing." And with that, Naruto disappeared in a flash of red. Just as suddenly, Neji was sent sailing through the air.

All those from Konoha were gaping like a fish out of water. While the younger generation was simply wondering how Naruto could get so fast, the older generation knew full well what technique it was. That was the 'Hiraishin no Jutsu' or Flying Thunder God Technique. The Hiraishin was made by Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, but in order for it to work, Minato had made special three-pronged kunai with seals engraved on the handles. Minato used these kunai as a means to hone in on an area to teleport to. It was also said that only the Yondaime was able to use it. This left them wondering, not only how Naruto learned it but also how he was able to use it without the seals.

In truth it was the first time Naruto had used the Hiraishin without using the special kunai or the seals. He also knew he was taking a big chance in showing that he knew that technique, but against Neji he couldn't take the chance. Naruto knew he couldn't play around like Yugito had wanted and he knew that there was only one way to get around the all-seeing-eye that was the Byakugan the Hyuga were known for. The Byakugan may grant the user three hundred and sixty degree vision, but like any eye when something is moving too fast to see, it becomes useless. Naruto also knew that, because Neji would often spar with Lee, the Hyuga may have come up with a counter to high speeds. So the only option for him to win this match quickly was to use the Hiraishin.

Not that he minded showing the Konoha Council that he knew the jutsu. To him, that was adding insult to injury, showing that he knew a technique that _supposedly_ only the Yondaime knew. But he would never say where he learned it, but really, one would assume that the Hiraishin was a _clan_ jutsu, therefore only clan members knew how to perform it. But he couldn't think about that, he had a match to win.

--

Da Ji paced around the hotel room they were given, she had to leave early to make sure that what she was waiting for would show up. And she was getting impatient waiting for them. Really, how hard was it to show up on time? Did they think that just because they were in a ninja village, that they had to sneak in? Honestly, they should know that the best way to get in undetected was to come in the front door. So what was taking so long?! She wanted to scream in frustration…oh, wait, she just did. Oh there would be hell to pay when they finally got here.

She stopped mid rant when three figures entered through the window. One was a male that had on black baggy pants that tucked into boots just below the knee. He wore a small vest with nothing underneath it, along with forearm guards. His hair stood up in a point, the roots of which remained white before becoming red. The white also moved down into sideburns giving him a very monkey-like look about him. Of course, the monkey's tail may have added to that. The other figure was clearly female, wearing a dark red kimono with a black sash tied around her waist, her long red hair reaching down to her thighs. Held in her arms was a sleeping girl no older then twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a white jumpsuit.

Da Ji stormed over to stand in front of them, her hands planted on her hips, "What took you so long?"

"It's not our fault we were delayed. It was hard enough getting her into the village without drawing attention," the male said, gesturing to the sleeping girl.

"Well it doesn't matter now, I guess," Da Ji replied, "Everything is ready." With that she gestured over to a circle in the middle of the floor, seals and charms going out in a straight line from the middle. The red-headed woman placed the sleeping girl in the middle of the circle, retreating out of it once she was done. Da Ji knelt down on the floor, and began her incantation.

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The scythe that Yugito is using, Irkalla, is better known as Abyss's scythe from Soul Calibur 2. The reason behind this is because the nekomata was once believed that it could reanimate a corpse. Other then that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Naruto sat atop the Hokage Monument, waiting for his date to arrive. His fight against Neji had been an easy victory, the Hyuga could barely keep up with his speed. Now for the final part of the exams he would not only have to face off against Keiji, but then he'd have to face against Kiba right after that. Though he didn't know who to feel sorrier for; Sakura who had to face off against Yugito, or Tenten who would have to fight Lu Bu. He didn't doubt that the Konoha kunoichi were strong, he simply knew that both Lu Bu and Yugito wouldn't lose. But he didn't care for those matches. He was more interested in seeing how much stronger Hinata had become.

He tilted his head back as a red-headed woman landed behind him, "How is my little Naru-chan?" Naruto wanted to groan at the childish nickname.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that… Mom," Naruto said as he stood to give the older woman a hug.

She smiled, "But you'll always be my little Naru-chan." She laughed as she heard Naruto sigh softly. Kushina was incensed, when she had heard about the way this village treated her little boy. She would have been there to raise him had she not been chased away by Danzou's ROOT lapdogs. Normally she would have fought them off, but the exhaustion of childbirth coupled with knowing she wouldn't see her husband again got the better of her, causing her to flee to what once was the Land of the Whirlpool.

There she stayed until Naruto ran into her fourteen years later. At first she couldn't believe it, her son was standing in front of her. The mere sight of how much he resembled Minato, her late husband, caused her to drop to her knees and cry. Thinking it was something that he had done at the time, Naruto had gone over to see if she was alright only to be engulfed in a bone crushing hug. From that moment on she remained with Naruto, training him in the techniques Minato had taught her. "So, what's my little Naru-chan doing out here?"

"I'm waiting for someone to show up," Naruto replied, moving to stand at the edge of the mountain that over looked the village.

"Just make sure you treat her like you would Yugito," Kushina told her son, walking to stand next to him. Then, as an after thought, she added, "Perhaps I'll stay around and meet the young lady."

Naruto groaned again, he really didn't want his mother staying around and embarrassing him in front of Hinata. But then he supposed it was her way of making up for fourteen years of not being with him. He kneeled down, placing his hand against the rough ground that depicted his father upon the mountain, "Forgive me father, for what must be done." The setting sun, casting its glow across the village, gave the distinct image of buildings bathed in blood.

--

In another part of the village, within one of the many training grounds, two females were sparring against each other. Well, if you could call it sparring, watching the two women fight was like watching a dance. Da Ji spun and twirled around, giving the impression of being on skates, the twin orbs of _Houkuni_ rotating around her. Facing the vixen was the young teenage girl who had been awoken from her slumber.

It was actually a surprise, finding the young would be shaman within the cold depths of Izanami's domain. Along with Sun Wukong, both trapped within eternal torment. Of course, it wasn't a place she ever wanted to see again. But she knew that they would need the extra power to succeed in the plan. Not that she needed to worry about 'repenting' for sins she committed long ago when she had stolen a human identity. Since she was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or was since the title was passed on to Naruto, it allowed her to do with as she pleased with whatever souls were there, without fear of Izanami interfering. That's when Da Ji found Himiko within her slumber, the young shaman priestess having been sent to the cold regions for one reason or another.

Himiko was doing her best to keep up with Da Ji, the older vixen was much more agile then the young priestess was, the twin golden _dotakus _in the shape of a _dogu_ head that was _Amateratsu_ firing blasts of pure energy at the kitsune. Not that she expected to hit the she-demon, Himiko knew that because of her prolonged slumber that she'd be out of shape. So she sparred against Da Ji or 'Dakki-chan' as the young shaman liked to call the vixen.

Orochi stood off to the side, Sun Wukong standing next to him, and watched the two females spar. Though he knew that Da Ji was going easy on Himiko, why he did not understand. If one pulled their punches on their sparring partner, then how could either ever hope to become stronger? But then he supposed that Da Ji was the mother spoiling her child, protecting the child from everything and anything. What utter foolishness, what compels mortals to pamper their children and protect them from the horrors of the world? All it did was cause more harm then good to the child.

Da Ji and Himiko paused in their fight as all four of them were surrounded, judging from the cloaks and white masks these were ANBU and if the ROOT in kanji upon the masks was any indication then these shinobi were under Danzou's control. Sun Wukong jumped into the air, a cloud appearing under him, and rode off. The monkey king knew how… destructive those three could be when together and didn't want to be around to watch the fight. Not willing to let anyone else escape the ROOT ANBU charged, with _Shounetsu_ in hand Orochi parried their ninjato. One foolish ROOT thought Himiko would be the easiest to defeat, and he was rewarded with a blast of pure sun energy fired from _Amateratsu_. The ball of energy burned right through the ANBU's chest, killing him instantly.

More ROOT swarmed out from the dense forest, surrounding the three warriors. _"This will be fun,"_ Da Ji thought, the idea of a slaughter exciting the fox. _"I hope we make it,"_ Himiko thought, hoping that she could fight all of these ANBU after only been awake for more then a few hours and still not up to fighting standards. _"Utter foolishness,"_ Orochi thought, knowing that these ROOT ANBU stood no chance against the three of them.

The ROOT ANBU charged first, moving faster Orochi drove his free hand into the ground, "_Jakusha-Muyou-Touta_!(1)" Orochi said, wave after wave of godly power surging forward incinerating any ANBU foolish enough to get close. Taking the opportunity Himiko yelled out, "_Nani shiton_! _Kikahen-en-mon_!(2)" The golden _dotakus_ multiplying into four and spinning in a circle, moving from side to side in front of the young priestess, the sun beams ripping through the ranks of the ROOT ANBU. Not to be out done Da Ji jumped into the air, "_Owari nishiteageru dokkaniichae_!(3)" the vixen said in a singsong voice, tossing down spheres of her youki. The explosions caused by said spheres either killing those caught or sending them flying into Himiko's or Orochi's attack.

A few seconds later Da Ji floated back down onto the ground, _Houkuni_ circling about her ready to ward off an attack. No sooner had Da Ji touched down then the sunbeams from _Amateratsu_ ceased and the four _dotakus_ returned to being two, hovering above Himiko. "_Owari Da_,(4)" the whisper seemingly echoing throughout the training ground as Orochi stood to his full height. And indeed the one-sided slaughter was over, nothing remained of the ROOT ANBU but ashes and burned corpses.

Da Ji giggled, then a playful pout found its way onto her face, "There weren't enough screams!" she said, kicking one of the charred corpses, her nine tails lashing out behind her.

Himiko stomped over to the fox-woman, her hands on her hips and an angry pout on her face, "You never change do you Dakki-chan?!" Da Ji's only response was to giggle and pat the young shaman on the head on her way to stand next to Orochi. "So what are we going to do about this?" the fox asked the serpent king.

"We weren't the only ones that were targeted. We will return to the hotel and wait." And with that the three left the clearing as if nothing had happened.

--

Zhuge Liang had been looking around the market district for a gift to bring back with him to Kumo, when he had felt the disturbance in the wind. It really wasn't hard, no matter how skilled a shinobi was at stealth it was impossible to cover their displacement of air molecules, and given Zhuge Liang's high affinity to the wind element he could detect even the slightest disturbance. And ever since he had first sensed them he had been going over different possibilities in his head. The most likely would be that everyone from Kumo had been put under surveillance as a precaution. That would explain why whoever was following him hadn't confronted him, but that could be easily countered by the fact that he was in a public area.

So, if that little fact was all that was keeping his would be stalker from engaging him in combat, then all he had to do was remain were it was densely populated to return to the hotel they were given. So it was no concern that someone was stalking him, he had more pressing matters to attend to... like what to get his wife. So with that thought in mind he continued to look through the different stalls.

In another part of the village, Keiji strolled around looking at the various sights Konoha had to offer, Divine Mandible resting upon his shoulders. Of course, that was only after he had taken care of the ROOT ANBU that was following him. Keiji had thought that the ANBU would have been better at stealth, but perhaps the person was a rookie and had underestimated Keiji's abilities. Either way he had enjoyed the brawl that followed, it was a nice way to relieve some of the stress, sparring could only do so much. So it was a real blessing that the fool thought to confront him _in_ the bar that Keiji had visited.

At least the ROOT ANBU had the sense to disguise himself, though perhaps that had worked more in the blonde spearman's favor rather then the ROOT's. Considering when the fight had started it somehow erupted into a full blown bar fight, he didn't know how it did it just did. Really, Keiji wasn't _that_ drunk he had only had two or three cups of sake when the disguised ROOT started the fight. Not that he was complaining, he had enjoyed that bar fight... he only hoped that he didn't have to pay for the damages caused. It wasn't his fault that he had punched the ROOT through the wall and across the street, he just doesn't remember his own strength that's all.

Yugito looked up towards the Hokage Mountain where she knew her husband was waiting for his date. She didn't mind really, that Naruto was considering on taking on a second wife. She knew that, because Naruto was last of his clan and the fox lord that he could have as many female lovers as he wished. Still, that didn't help her feel like she was going to be forgotten, even though she knew that he had promised that she would always be first and foremost. Perhaps it was the cat part of her, becoming possessive of what she considered 'her' territory. Which was why she was inwardly seething at the thought of someone being with her husband.

So naturally, when the first thing came along to relieve her built-up anger, she took full advantage of it. Unfortunately, the poor ROOT ANBU that had been trailing her didn't know what he had gotten himself into. The poor unfortunate soul hadn't realized that the neko mistress had intentionally lid him into an ally way. Nor did the idiotic ROOT notice that he was being toyed with during the first part of the fight that ensued. Needless to say Yugito left the alleyway feeling rather content about leaving the ROOT in two different pieces. But then the fight had also caused her to become rather... aroused, she cursed the neko demon in her.

In another training ground, Lu Bu and Diao Chan sparred against each other. It had been Diao Chan's idea, really, her loose at the hands of Tenten and forced the beautiful dancer to accept that her fighting style wasn't suited for fighting ninja. And that was a problem that she intended to correct no matter what training she had to do. But she had almost had to beg her lord Lu Bu to help train her. She knew that her beloved didn't want to cause her harm, but she had told him the best why to make sure that no harm came to her was to be has strong as possible.

She never liked using Lu Bu's own feelings against him, but she _had_ to. She simply knew she was not strong enough to make her ambitions a reality, she had to rely on her lord Lu Bu's great strength. But it tore her up every time she did, every time that he agreed to do as she pleased. But what tore her up even more was when Lu Bu's lust for battle clouded his mind to the horrors they witnessed while under Orochi's command when the serpent king first merged Japan and China together. She had hoped that her defection to the rebellion would cause her beloved to see the serpent king for what he was. But it was not so, and it tore her apart fighting against her lord at the attack on Koshi Castle.

With the disappearance of Da Ji and Orochi's defeat so close at hand she had thought that Lu Bu would have overcome his dream of defeating Orochi himself and return to her. Perhaps it was for the better, that she, Keiji, Lu Bu and Orochi were transported to this world. But it really didn't matter, she supposed, her beloved was back to the way he was before they had met Orochi and that's all she really cared about. She was with her beloved, granted not in the way she had originally dreamed and hoped for but that didn't matter. She was with him, and that was all that mattered.

Diao Chan spun, Moonflower lashing out to deflect an oncoming kunai. Dozens of ROOT ANBU charged out towards her... and she met their charge with one of her own. Half way there, however she yelled out "_Kore-ga-saigo-desu_!(5)" Wind formed around Moonflower and doubled the length of the whip. The dancer met the ANBU, her whip singing out slicing through any one that dared get too close. However, those that thought that if they distanced themselves her whip couldn't reach them, that proved useless as the wind part of the whip tore through their bodies, slicing tendons, breaking blood vessels and tore muscles.

She ended the attack with a quick spin and tossed her hair behind her with a flick of her wrist, multiple invisible wind blades exploded outwards tearing through what remained of the ROOT. Off to the side Lu Bu smirked, proud that Diao Chan had come so far in her training. Forgetting about the incident, the two warriors left the training grounds, Diao Chan's arms wrapped around Lu Bu's waist.

--

Naruto remained kneeling on top of the Hokage Mountain, looking out over the village. He knew that hundreds of innocent people would die in the attack, but... in order for a garden to prosper the weeds must be cut, and Konoha was one of those weeds. He would not enjoy it, but he would show these ignorant fools what happened when they forced something on someone. He never wanted to leave Konoha, he thought that if he fought as hard as he could for this pitiful village then they would start to respect him as a human being. But would they? No they didn't, he continued to get the hateful stares, the curse filled threats.

Naruto shot up, spinning around as he did so, and two ROOT ANBU dropped to his feet, each sliced cleanly in half. In his hand Naruto held an odachi, its long blade shinning in the setting sun. The foot long handle covered in red wrappings, the kanji for '_Benitsune_' traveling down the five foot blade. But that wasn't the strangest part of the weapon, red colored lightning arched across its length. Naruto reversed his grip and brought his arm up horizontal to the ground, impaling another unfortunate ROOT member on the blade, only this ROOT dissolved into a puddle of ink. He lowered his arm, angling the blade so that it was diagonal behind his back, "So what's your name?" Naruto asked.

The ROOT didn't answer, instead bringing out a scroll and brush and drew several ink drawings of lions on the scroll. With a murmur of "_Choujuu Giga_,(6)" the painted lions lept from the scroll and charged at Naruto. With expert ease _Benitsune_ lashed out, easily cutting into the drawn lions and turning them into a puddle of ink. Even as the red armor clad teen did this more drawn animals, ranging from lions to wolves, charged at him, however Naruto just continued to dispatch them with ease. The ROOT, seeing that his strategy wasn't working, stopped drawing animals and drew his ninjato, charging Naruto as he did so. _Benitsune_ lashed out and blocked the shorter sword, pushing the smaller blade to the side Naruto twisted the odachi and sliced the ROOT in two, only for the two pieces to dissolve into a puddle of ink.

_Benitsune_ sung through the air, cutting through drawn kunai that were launched at Naruto. One of the ink kunai slipped past _Benitsune_, only to splatter into an ink stain when it connected with Naruto's armor. The ROOT charged again, the ninjato striking out at Naruto, yet despite its long length _Benitsune_ parried every blow. The red lightning surrounding the blade increased in strength and easily shattered the ninjato. Naruto twisted the blade and stabbed the ROOT in the chest, barely missing the heart. Naruto sighed as the body dissipated into ink once again. "I'll ask again; what's your name and why are you fighting me?"

This time the ROOT ANBU answered, "By order of Danzou-sama, and for the good of Konoha, I Sai, shall be the one to kill you." Sai brought out a scroll and quickly drew several lions along with a large dragon, bringing them to life with his '_Choujuu Giga_' technique, Naruto stood still even as the animals charged him. There was a red flash and Naruto disappeared, the ink drawings exploding as Naruto reappeared behind them. An ink snake popped out of the ground and wrapped around Naruto, while dozens of different ink animals charged at him. _Benitsune_ released a high voltage of electricity, destroying the snake that bound him. Naruto swung his odachi, releasing a chakra blade as he did so, destroying the ink animals. Sai jumped over the attack, the chakra blade continuing into the forests toppling some trees before it dissipated.

Sai was prepared to bring more ink lions to life when a single arrow appeared in his skull, along with an odachi stabbed through his stomach. _Benitsune_ twisted and thrust upward, splitting the ROOT ANBU in half from stomach to head. Naruto flicked the odachi, flinging any blood left on the blade to the ground. Naruto looked up from Sai's body and saw Hinata standing there, bow drawn but no arrow in her hand. Hinata ran up to him, not really caring about the bodies of the dead ROOT ANBU, "Naruto-kun, what happened?"

Naruto walked back to stand at the edge of the mountain, looking down at the village, "It would appear that Danzou thinks I'm a threat to this village." He paused here for a few seconds, then burst out laughing, "If Danzou and those bastards on the council only knew what they just got themselves into."

Hinata moved to stand next to him, her face clearly showing how confused she was. "What do you mean by that, Naruto-kun?"

"Let me tell you a tale, Hinata. A tale about a boy and the hell that was his life..." and with that Naruto began his tale, only, unlike when Da Ji told the Konoha Council, he left out _nothing. _He told Hinata of the beatings he received when he was only a small child, of the hateful glares and the curses aimed at him. Of how he grew up alone and cold because none of the parents would even so much as look at him without a glare on their faces. Of how he was beaten anytime he went to the park and tried to play with other kids his age.

Of how he was thrown out of the orphanage when he was only six years old. He told her how the academy teachers tried their hardest to make sure he failed all of his classes. But he also told her about how he found Yugito, who was being attacked by some rogue Kumo nin. Of how they met Orochi, Diao Chan, Keiji, and Lu Bu, of how the fox demon sealed within him turned out to be a follower of Orochi's. He told her how he became the Kyuubi no Kitsune, of how they took over Kumogakure and his time as a Kumo shinobi. By the time his tale was done Hinata was close to tears.

She couldn't believe how the villagers treated the only one she ever loved. She held him close, sobbing into his chest, vowing that she would never, nor could ever betray or hurt him in any way. She vowed to herself that she would remain with him, be by his side no matter what happened in the future. She drew away from him, drawing an arrow as she did so and notching it. She aimed up into the sky, canaling some chakra into the arrow she released it, shooting it up into the night sky. With this small act she vowed to her self that she would help her Naruto-kun in whatever way possible.

Unnoticed by either of them, the inhuman amount of blood caused by the dead ROOT traveled down a crack in the mountain, the crack itself wasn't very big. This crack traveled down, eventually stopping at the corner of the Yondiame's eye. Here the blood spilled forth, giving the image that the Yondaime let out a single tear of blood.

* * *

Dotakus, are ritual bells, usually ceremonial. Himiko uses two of these as her weapon. Though when you look at her thrid and fourth weapon they look more like dogu heads. Dogu are figurines usually made to look like females. The name of Himiko's fourth weapon, Amateratsu is also the name of the sun goddess. Da Ji's fourth weapon, Houkuni... I don't remember what it means, actually. Naruto's odachi, Benitsune means crimson fox... or dark crimsom fox, one of the two.

1) Jakusha-Muyou-Touta!: "The weak and the useless are weeded out!" This is actually Shin Orochi true musou phrase, but I used it here because I liked it better.

2) Nani shiton! Kikahen-en-mon!: "What are you doing! (we go) to and fro!" the second part could also mean round and round, not sure of exact translation. And before anyone says they've seen Himiko's true musou and tell me that's not it, don't. I know I changed it and yes that was on purpose

3) Owari nishiteageru dokkaniichae!: It's going to be the end of you! This is Da Ji's true musou phrase, in the english version I believe she says "I've had enough!"

4) Owari Da: means It's over

5) Kore-ga-saigo-desu!: Diaos Chan's true musou in Warriors Orochi means, This is the end. It's also the same thing she says in the english version. I used her WO phrase because I couldn't find her DW6 phrase, but works either way.

6) Choujuu Giga: means Super Beast Imitation Drawing. This is the technique Sai uses to bring his ink drawings to life and use them in battle.

I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if there is something missing anything in the translations I just put, please, tell me. Until the next chapter and please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When Hinata first awoke from her deep, and blissful, slumber, she noticed something... different about her bed. It was warmer then it usually was... or was it just her? Or was the bed moving up and down as if someone... was... breathing. Then all of the events from last night came flooding back to her. It had started off innocent enough. After Naruto had told her of his past they had continued with their date, at the most expensive restaurant in all of Konoha.

The dinner itself wasn't that eventful, unless you count all of the people there constantly glaring at the both of them. It wasn't the looks she was worried about, she was worried about what would happen to her if her father found out about this. She hadn't actually told anyone in the Hyuga complex where she was going that night. But it was what she heard, those whispers that the villagers said when they thought she and Naruto weren't listening. But she heard all of it; "Demon Lover", "Demon and his Whore". These were the things that the villagers of Konoha were calling her. HER! Hinata Hyuga, daughter of Hiashi Hyuga and heiress to the Hyuga clan. How could they turn on her so easily? How could they say such things about a fellow villager?

She could take the glares, she could deal with the harsh words... but she couldn't believe the villagers had gathered in a mob and tried to kill them. She didn't want to kill them, even if it was self defense she could never use _Inahime_, her bow, against her own village. But Naruto had no such hesitations, with _Benitsune,_ in hand Naruto had removed various limbs from all those present in the mob. But what he had said led the both of them to their current predicament. He had said, "No one threatens my mate." Of course, it had been a whole other surprise to see Yugito waiting in Naruto's room. Who knew that the neko mistress could be so... flexible?

She opened her eyes to see Yugito still asleep on the other side of Naruto's body. Her eyes drifted closed again, and her thoughts returned to what they had talked about... after they were too exhausted to continue. But she still questioned, questioned whether she could help Naruto-kun with the destruction of the village. Could she do that? Could she betray and kill her friends? Could _Inahime_'s arrows pierce an ally? But, those that had hurt him... weren't they the ones that she would pierce with her arrows? But what of her teammates and other friends? What would they think of her when they found out she betrayed them?

She curled up closer to Naruto, she didn't want to think about that... no, she couldn't think like that. They would either understand or they wouldn't. They would either help her and Naruto or they would stand in their way. But these were absolutes she was thinking of... isn't that how the villagers thought. Wasn't there a way that she could convince her friends to join them? Make them see the truth as she has seen the village? There had to be a way... but her father, her clan, the entirety of the village would stand against her and carrying out what Naruto desired. Or was she putting too much faith in what Naruto said and believed? But was that wrong? Believing so strongly in what Naruto wishes? Was she blinding herself to her own beliefs all for the chance to be with Naruto?

No, no, she couldn't second guess herself now. Not after what happened last night. Her hand reached up to her neck where the image of a small nine tailed fox had appeared. Naruto said that the mark signified her as his mate, as his wife... as his _family._ Wasn't that what she had always wanted? To be with Naruto and start a family together? To show him that there was someone within the hate filled village that cared and loved him. She had vowed to be by his side no matter what. No matter what the future holds in store for them, she would be by his side. She wouldn't break the promise she made when she fired that single arrow into the setting sun. She had given everything to Naruto, her heart, her soul... her body, she would remain faithful in what Naruto wished for their friends, and carry out his will.

She tried to curl up tighter to Naruto, hoping that he could help ease her mind. In response she felt him tighten his arm around her waist. She looked up at his face and was met by those deep blue eyes she could just gaze into all day long and never tire. Those eyes that held so much warmth for those he loved and cared about, but also held unmatched fury for those that he considered his enemy. But she saw none of that, all she saw when looking into his eyes was understanding.

"What's bothering, Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I'm... I'm worried about what our friends will do when they find out I'm fighting with you."

Naruto sighed softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back onto the pillows, "It's not an easy decision to make is it? But I went through the same thoughts as you are now." He paused here to collect his thoughts, "I do not wish to cause my old friends any harm," he turned his head towards the conner where _Inahime_, _Benitsune_, and _Irkalla _were gleaming in the morning sun. "But to protect you, Yugito, and my allies of Kumo, I will do whatever it takes. But I hope that Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Shino will understand what must be done and join us."

"What of Sakura and Kiba? Why do you think they won't join us in Kumo?" Hinata asked.

"Sakura... is too attached to Sasuke to care about anything else. And Kiba... well I'm sure he'd join if you told him to, but he is like those dogs that they partner with." Naruto chuckled lightly, "If he ever makes any kind of move on you, I'll show him that foxes have always been stronger then mere mutts."

"And I'll show him that cats are ones to be feared," Yugito added, her eyes still half lidded.

Naruto tightened his grip around the both of them, drawing the two females closer to himself, "All in all, anyone that threatens my family shall feel _Benitsune_'s blade." Hinata's eyes watered and she buried her face in the crock of Naruto's neck, enjoying the feeling of his hand brushing her hair.

--

Da Ji was having a pleasant morning, snuggling up to her Orochi-sama, his hand running through her purple hair. Well, at least she was until Himiko decided to barge in and try to awaken the two, "Come on, Dakki-chan! Time for traaaaaaaaaaaining!" How children were so energetic in the mornings, Da Ji would never know. So instead of answering the young shaman, Da Ji reached over and threw a pillow.

Da Ji heard a satisfying 'thud' and pulled the covers closer to her, trying to get back to sleep. Keyword there being 'tried', as Himiko returned to her feet and said, "That wasn't very nice Dakki-chan!" Himiko stomped over and started to shake the kitsune to try and stir her, "Come on, you promised, we would train!"

Before Da Ji could respond, Orochi spoke up, "Insolent child. Leave and let the adults be."

"Hmph. Fine you meanie!" Himiko shouted, stomping out of the room in a childish tantrum. Da Ji sighed, she wouldn't have been that hard on the girl... but then she really couldn't blame Orochi. He never was pleasant in the mornings.

Well, it was no use trying to get back to sleep now. So Da Ji untangled her tails from around Orochi and walked around the room trying to find her scant clothing. It took a few minutes, but she managed to separate Orochi's armor from her own clothing. After getting dressed she bound her hair in the usual braids, two on either side of her face and four in the back. Orochi decided to forsake the headdress he usually wore, allowing his dark purple hair to cascade down to his shoulders. Da Ji admitted to herself, he looked better without that snake headdress. If it wasn't for her self control, she'd jump the serpent king then and there. Granted she had very little self control, but that's besides the point. The point was that they had things to do before the finales took place in one month, and neither of them could afford to be exhausted.

She also suspected that sooner or later Konoha would learn of the dead ROOT ANBU bodies that attacked them. Though nothing official could be done about it since, according to her... _sources_, the ROOT program should have been disbanded for years. Of course, Da Ji had foreseen such an event and had taken the necessary precautions. And that very precaution was bound, gagged and unconscious awaiting to be revealed... or rather killed. She couldn't wait to see the faces of the Konoha Council when she revealed what she had planned for the spy that infiltrated Kumo. That's when the real fun would begin. Oh it was making her giddy, but there was so much left to do! There were plans she needed to finalize, allies to be contacted and... wait a minute, "Where's Naruto and Yugito?!" She asked when she didn't see the couple at the breakfast table nor were they still in their room.

"He went to spend some time with his wives," Kushina answered sitting down at the table.

"Hmph, well as long as he doesn't do anything foolish." Da Ji said, not really caring, after all... there were things she needed to finish.

--

How had Hinata convince him to meet up with his old friends, except for Sakura and Kiba who had somehow... _missed_ the invitation, Naruto thought to himself. Not that Naruto was complaining, he had missed everyone from Konoha. Ayame and Teuchi, the owners of Ichiraku Ramen, had been so delighted to see Naruto that they said that the entire meal was on the house. Naruto had asked why but his only response was Ayame hugging him from behind the counter saying, "Consider it a 'welcome back' gift."

Their fine meal was interrupted when the old sensei of Team Seven walked by the stand and spotted Naruto. The silver haired jounin had hoped to talk to Naruto alone but by the looks of it that wouldn't happen. "You know Naruto, I don't think your father, my sensei, would be very pleased that you betrayed the village he protected by joining a different one."

"I don't give damn what you think Kakashi-_sensei_. What gives you the right to tell me what my own father would think of my actions? Do you think that the fact that he trained you gives you the right to know what he thinks? If so, then you are _dearly_ mistaken." Those that could look into Naruto's eyes could see the rage that was building, and those that knew him prayed that Kakashi didn't say anything to set that anger off. "But then I guess he'd be more disappointed in the way you and the rest of this god-forsaken village treated his only _son_."

"Now, Naruto, is that anyway to talk to your sensei?" Kakashi asked in what he hoped was a playful voice.

"What right do you have to be called that? A sensei teaches their students, and what do you do? You openly favor one student over the other two while talking about teamwork... you're a damn hypocrite, _Hatake_," Naruto replied, his eyes bleeding red as his anger increased. Only Hinata's hand over his own stopped him from acting out.

Kakashi knew that Naruto was right, the jounin knew that he had played favorites when he trained Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke. He trained Sasuke more because he felt that he owed his old teammate, Obito Uchiha, a dept. Obito had been the one to give Kakashi the sharingan eye in his left socket, and the silver haired jounin thought he needed to repay that dept. It wasn't a reason to favor Sasuke's training, but at the time, Kakashi was still bitter about the death of his sensei and Naruto reminded him too much of Minato-sensei.

Sakura had been walking by and had heard everything that had been said. "Naruto, all we want is to be forgiven for how we acted in the past," she said, hoping that he heard the truthfulness in her voice.

This was doing nothing to help Naruto's anger subside. Before anyone knew what was happening Naruto was holding Sakura up off the ground by her throat. "_You._ You're no different then him. When we were teammates, I would have done _anything_ for you. _I_ saved you from Gaara during the first Chuunin Exams, yet you go and thank Sasuke. You _begged_ me to bring Sasuke back when he left this village and what do you do when you learned that I couldn't bring him back? You go and _slap_ me for not keeping to my promise."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed and he grabbed Naruto's wrist, "Enough, Naruto, put Sakura down." Naruto growled before he disappeared in a swirl of fire. The next thing they heard was a roar that sent chills down Kakashi's spin. Was Naruto that angy at him and Sakura?

--

Within the fenced-off area that was the Forest of Death, a nine tailed fox the size of a large wolf was rampaging. The fox's tails lashed out, cutting into the trees and the ground around it. The fox charged forward, meeting a pack of larger tigers who thought that the fox was their next meal. But the tigers had no way of knowing who the fox really was, or the power that the fox possessed. Claws lashed out and teeth bit the fox winning against the larger pack The fox bit into the neck of one and twisted, killing the tiger. The fox did not see the tiger that jumped from behind, however, the tiger crashed to the ground as a two tailed cat the same size as the fox collided with it.

The cat gave a hiss, baring its fangs and rushed to join the fox. The cat knew that the fox was merely letting out some anger, but did it have to roar? It would be pure luck if every shinobi wasn't after them already. Not that the black furred neko blamed the crimson kitsune after what had happened. The neko just hoped that no one from Konoha found the two of them here. If any shinobi did, then everything would only get worse. The neko and the kitsune would be found out... or they would have to reveal who they really were and that would be just as bad. The kitsune gave one finale roar as the rest of the tigers ran off. With the battle done, the neko raised one of it's paws and lightly bobbed the kitsune over the head. The kitsune gave a low growl and said, "What was that for?"

"You know what that was for. Next time don't go off and start killing things! You're lucky we weren't caught in these forms!" the neko responded.

"It's not like it really matters, they'll find out eventually anyway," the kitsune said, laying down on the ground.

The neko gave off what sounded like a sigh, "Next time think before you vent your anger." The neko rested next to the fox, the kitsune curling into a ball around the cat. The kitsune's tails layered over the both of them acting like a giant furry blanket.

--

Hinata was not having a good day. After Naruto and Yugito had disappeared, she had been called before the Hyuga Elders. It seemed they heard the rumors of her being with Naruto. They told her... more like ordered her not to be around that 'demon filth' as they called her Naruto-kun. Not that she would listen to the old geezers. They had on more then one occasion tried to impede her training with _Inahime_, the Elders even went so far as to go behind her father's back and set up an arranged marriage between her and some spoiled royal. Thankfully it didn't last long when Hinata had... _introduced_ the royal to _Inahime_ and her arrows. Needless to say the royal called off the arranged marriage as fast as he could.

She stopped in the hallway, staring out the window which over looked the training grounds within the complex. There her father, Hiashi, and her younger sister, Hanabi, were training together. That was another thing that got to her, her father's actions toward her. While he wasn't as cold as he once was when she was younger, Hiashi still wasn't 'fatherly' towards her. He had stopped the Hyuga Elders from ending her training with _Inahime_; when she had asked why, all he responded was "So much like your mother." She didn't remember her mother very well because she had died giving birth to Hanabi.

Deciding she needed practice for her match in the final part of the Chuunin Exams she walked out onto the training field. Her father and sister took a small break, watching her. She twirled and spun the bow, the blades attached to it cutting through invisible enemies. She spun on her heel, notching and firing an arrow as she did so. Spinning around once again, she notched three arrows and let them fly, each arrow hitting one of the training dummies set around the training field. Jumping into the air, she let loose her arrows, she continued to do so even as she dropped to the ground. Hinata landed in a crouch and went for another arrow only to feel air where an arrow should have been.

She placed _Inahime_ on the ground and removed the quiver from her back. She looked at the interior, noticing that all the seals she placed there to hold extra arrows were gone. When was the last time she refilled it? Hadn't she replaced those seals before the Chuunin Exams began? Each of those seals contained more then a hundred arrows and the inside of the quiver was lined with them. Had she used that many arrows without realizing how low she was? It didn't matter now, she'd just have to visit Tenten's family's weapon shop for more arrows and reseal them later.

"Hinata," her father called her from where he sat.

"Yes, father?" Hinata said, replacing the quiver on her back and picking up _Inahime _before standing in front of him.

"I am aware that the Clan Elders called to speak with you. What was it that they wanted?"

"They disapprove of me being around Naruto-kun. They said that it was a bad image for a Hyuga to be seen around with a 'demon' as they call him. Father... if they only knew what Naruto-kun has already gone through then perhaps they would understand the truth. But as it stands, they, along with the rest of the village, will never understand Naruto-kun."

"And what of the young Namikaze do you understand that everyone else doesn't?" Hiashi asked.

"Everything," was Hinata's simple reply.

Hiashi took a moment to look into his daughter's eyes, seeing the determination shine brightly. And he knew that no matter what he said, she would follow her heart... just as his late wife had done. And if Hinata was anything like her mother, she was loyal to those that she loved. Hiashi knew his daughter, he knew that he wasn't fit to be called 'father', but he hoped to fulfill a promise he made to an old teammate. "Very well, Hinata. You have my permission to do as you please."

Hianta's eyes widened at this before quickly giving a small bow to her father. She gathered the arrows she had used and left for the weapon shop. On her way, she took note of the villager's glares toward her. She heard the whispers behind her back, "The Demon's Lover" they were calling her now. Was their fear and hatred rooted so deep that the villagers would turn so easily on one of their own shinobi? Or were they content to remain ignorant of the truth? But then she supposed, that it was easier to hate the boy for what he contained and take their anger out on him then know the reason behind the attack and hate that instead. The villagers had no idea who manipulated Da Ji into attacking the village... Da Ji herself didn't know, but that didn't matter.

Was it just human nature to be blind to the truth? Was it human nature to believe in false truths and excuses that made reality easier? Was it human nature to believe that they were right and nothing could contradict them? And if something did contradict their beliefs, was it human nature to not listen? But there were those that did listen, and there were those that could be convinced to see where they were wrong. She believed that Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, Tenten and Lee would understand what Hinata choose to do. She knew that they could be convinced to join Kumo and help with Naruto-kun's dream. But it was Kiba and Sakura she was worried about.

Sakura, Hinata would admit, changed more then Naruto gave her credit for. True the pink haired kunoichi hadn't gotten over her love for Sasuke. But would Sakura betray the village and her friends just to be with the Uchiha traitor? Hinata didn't have the answer, but if the Haruno did anything to harm Naruto-kun or his ambition, _Inahime_'s arrows would be the first to pierce her. Then there was Kiba to deal with. Naruto was right about him though. More then once the Hyuga elders had as well tried to set up an arranged marriage between her and Kiba. Only her father had been able to stop that from succeeding. She had been aware for sometime now about Kiba's feelings toward her. And she had constantly told him where her heart lay. But that hadn't stopped Kiba from trying to get her attention away from Naruto and onto himself. Not that it... oh great, here comes Kiba now... she did not have the time for this. "Hey, Hinata!" Kiba called out to her. Besides him, Akamaru barked and Kiba's face twisted into a snarl of rage.

Before she knew what was happening, Hinata was pinned against the wall in an alleyway. Kiba clawed at her blouse collar, exposing Naruto's mark. "Who marked you?" Kiba growled out, the claws on his hands digging into her neck..

"Let go of me, Kiba." Hinata responded, her lavender colored eyes narrowing to match Kiba's glare.

So Naruto was right, Hinata thought to herself. Kiba was so focused on his own desires that he wouldn't listen to reason. A shame really, Kiba had been a great friend... but this was going to far. Kiba's dog-like instincts would get in the way of her and Naruto, and that simply wouldn't do. Channeling chakra into her hand, Hinata drove her palm into Kiba's stomach... though perhaps her palm hit a little lower then his stomach, but she really didn't care where she hit him. The reaction was immediate, Kiba let go of her and dropped to the ground, groaning in pain. She had, after all, effectively delivered a two-ton punch with that single palm strike. She stepped over Kiba's groaning body, giving Akamaru a small pat on the head before continuing on her way, a satisfied smile on her face. Oh, how she longed to do that to the Inuzuka teen, now perhaps he'd think twice before assaulting her.

Unknown to Hinata, what had happened only made Kiba angrier. He'd show her, he'd show everyone that he was better then that... dead last in the Chuunin Exam finals. He'd beat Naruto so far into the ground that Hinata would have no choice but to see that he was better. He'd kill Naruto and that... cat girl he was with before taking Hinata as his own. Yes, the entire village would know that the Inuzuka were the alphas.

Akamaru could only watch on in sadness as his master slowly gave in to his instincts. The giant white dog had constantly tried to tell Kiba to give up on Hinata and find someone else. The dog had also tried to tell Kiba exactly _what_ title Naruto held, but the Inuzuka would not listen to his dog companion. Akamaru could only hope that Kiba would forgive him when Akamaru would refuse to face one of the nine demon lords. Unlike Kiba, Akamaru knew an alpha when he saw one... and Kiba had no chance of taking that title away from the kitsune lord.

* * *

I... have nothing really to say about this chapter. Except, perhaps, Kiba's personality. You see, I hate any pairing that has Hinata with anyone who isn't Naruto, and when you think about it, since the Inuzuka fight along side dogs they'd come to... act like them as well. It was with this thought in mind that I protrayed Kiba.

On another note, yes I named Hinata's bow _Inahime_, and for those who haven't guessed by now, it is also Ina's fourth weapon, called Coiled Viper in the english version of Samurai Warriors. Why I'm not calling the bow by the japanese name like I'm doing with the others? I'm not sure myself, but either way it works.

The next chapter should be the Chuunin Exam finals, so until then, please review. Remember, I'd like to know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was time, the Chuunin Exam finals were finally taking place. Lords and royals from all over the land came to see the matches that were taking place. The entire arena was filled with excited civilians, all expecting a great show. Tsunade sat within the Kage's Booth, along with the entire Konoha Council to her left while Orochi, Da Ji and Himiko sat off to her right. Her eyes roamed over the gathered royals and feudal lords, silently wondering to herself if Orochimaru was disguised as one of them. Even though there was no confirmation that there would be an attack, she couldn't take that risk.

Jiraiya as well, was looking over the gathered civilians, not paying attention to the gathered genin before him. If he knew his old teammate, he knew that Orochimaru would try and destroy the village. He had done so once, and Jiraiya knew Orochimaru well enough to know that the snake did not give up easily... if ever. But enough about that, there were matches to be proctored and a tournament to get underway. "Welcome all to the final stage of the Chuunin Selection Exams! Will Hinata Hyuga of Konohagakure no Sato and Zhuge Liang of Kumogakure no Sato please remain in the arena, everyone else move up to the contestant's box and await your match!"

Hinata was the first to make a move, notching an arrow and letting it fly. Zhuge Liang flicked _Suzaku Hane-Ougi_, his fan, splitting the arrow in half with a wind-blade. Jumping back, the Hyuga heiress launched several more arrows, only for the fan user to slice those in half as well. Several feathers launched from _Suzaku Hane-Ougi_, only to be deflected by _Inahime_'s attached blades. The Hyuga heiress jumped over another barrage of feathers and launched a barrage of her own arrows. The _Kaze no Tate_ sprang to life around Zhuge Liang protecting him from the onslaught.

_Suzaku Hane-Ougi_ came up, a smaller wind shield forming around the fan, blocking _Inahime_'s blades. Hinata notched another arrow, channeling chakra into it, and fired at the fan user at point blank range. The chakra enforced arrow easily slipped through the wind shield, slicing Zhuge Liang's cheek as he moved to avoid it. Hinata flew back, a yellow beam of pure chakra having collided with her, twisting in mid-air to avoid the wind blades. Landing on her feet, Hinata activated her byakugan, the veins around her eyes bulging out, spinning on her feet to avoid more wind blades. Hinata continued to spin and pivot on her feet, her byakugan allowing her to see all around herself. "_Arekuruukaze_!" the hundreds of invisible wind blades sped towards Hinata.

Hinata held out _Inahime_ in front of her, focusing chakra into the four separate blades. "_Shugo Hakke Rokujuuyonshou_!" Chakra blades extended from the bow's blades lengthening the range and, using her flexibility, the Hyuga heiress spun and twirled cutting through the wind blades with _Inahime_. Her byakugan lighting up the invisible wing blades with the chakra they were made of, advancing towards the fan user as she did so. When the attack was done, Hinata was kneeling on the ground her bow held horizontal in front of her, but she still had her own attack.

"_Hakke Rokujuuyonshou_!" An arrow made of pure chakra appeared in the bow, and Hinata quickly fired it at the Kumo shinobi. The arrow turned into two separate ones, Zhuge Liang tried to block it with his _Kaze no Tate_, the thinner and sharper chakra arrows easily slipping through the shield and striking him. Hinata launched another chakra arrow, this one splitting into four separate arrows and striking the fan user. A third arrow was launched, quickly becoming eight and striking their target. Hinata fired three more times, the arrows becoming sixteen, thirty-two and sixty-four respectfully.

Zhuge Liang fell to his knees, all of his chakra being blocked exhausting him. He knew that he had one final trick up his sleeve. If he simply opened the musou gate that would undo the damage Hinata's technique had done, and he could use his ultimate technique. But the chances of her blocking it like she did with his _Arekuruukaze_ was too great. If that were to happen then he would still lose because he'd be too exhausted to continue. Plus, he would be needed for what was to happen after the first round of matches and he'd need all of his strength then. "I yield," Zhuge Liang said, struggling to get to his feet until someone landed next to him.

This woman had reddish hair, though lighter then what Kushina had, reaching down to her mid-back. A blouse extended into a mid-thigh skirt, right side of which was black while the left was white, separating the two sides was a border of gold and green. The long sleeves were under guards that covered her forearms, on both of her hands were gloves that only covered her index, middle and ring fingers. Black high heeled, knee high boots, which ended in points on the outside of her thighs, completed the look. She was Yue Ying, Zhuge Liang's wife.

Naruto watched as Yue Ying led her husband up into the stands. He was pleasantly surprised to see Hinata use her bow that way. From what he remembered of the Hyuga techniques, they were all close range, so using her bow from a distance gives her an advantage of not worrying about a counterattack. He could see why the Hyuga Elders would want to halt Hinata's training with _Inahime_. But then again those old bastards were too focused on tradition to ever accept a different form of their fighting style. Perhaps it was time for him to have a small talk with Hiashi and Neji... get the Hyuga clan to come to Kumo after the invasion was finished.

Sakura stared at her opponent, Yugito's twin cat tails fluttering in the wind, before she asked, "What did you do to Naruto?"

"Oh, so now you care about him?" Yugito said with a laugh, "And what makes you think I did anything? Did it ever occur to you that it was something you and the rest of this god-forsaken village did? Of course not! You're all too selfish to care!" With that Yugito jumped into the air, _Irkalla_ in hand, bearing the scythe down on the pink haired medic-nin, Sakura narrowly avoided it by rolling to the side.

"You have no idea, of the pain that people like us go through. No idea of the suffering _Jinchuuriki_ are forced to endure. Of the pain we go through everyday because of ignorant people like you, like this village, and like all those who fear the demon container's power. I've had enough of people like you!" Yugito shouted, swinging the scythe, releasing a large wave of fire at Sakura. Yugito jumped back, avoiding Sakura's drop kick, the impact of which caused a large crater to appear where the pink haired kunoichi landed.

"You know nothing about Naruto!" Sakura shouted, charging at the Kumo kunoichi.

"Like hell I don't!" Yugito shouted as she jumped back to avoid Sakura's punch. "_I_ was the one that first showed him what it was like to be loved. What right do you have to say that you know more then I do about my own husband!" Sakura blocked the scythe's blade using two of her kunai, though even with her increased strength the pink haired kunoichi was barely able to hold the blade back.

"He's my friend!" Sakura shouted, pushing against the neko mistress.

"You have no right to call yourself that! You're no different then those pathetic villagers! When you were younger did you ever stop to think _why _Naruto was hated so much by the older generation?! No, you didn't, did you? You blindly followed your parents, taking after how they treated the boy. You're all alike!" _Irkalla_'s bladelit up in a sickly purple, easily cutting through the kunai... and Sakura.

Yugito jumped back, barely missing Sakura as she burst from the ground, fist extended above her. Not giving the blonde a chance to counterattack, Sakura charged forward, throwing punches and kicks. The neko mistress's superior agility easily outmatched Sakura's speed and strength. Getting annoyed rather quickly Yugito shoved a fireball into Sakura's stomach, blasting the Konoha kunoichi away. Sakura staggered to her feet, coughing up blood as she did so. Before Sakura had a chance to do anything, she was being held up off of the ground, Yugito's clawed hand digging into her throat, "And you know what else pisses me off?" Yugito hissed into Sakura's ear. "You were so focused on that traitorous Uchiha, that you didn't bother with your ninja training, or the affection that Naruto so openly showed you. He did EVERYTHING for you, yet you shoved it in his face every DAMN time!" She yelled, slamming Sakura's head repeatedly into the wall of the arena.

Yugito dropped Sakura and started to walk away, thinking she had won, only to fly forwards into the wall, _Irkalla_ skidding across the ground as she lost her grip. Sakura stood there, fist extended and Tsunade's own _Infuuin_ seal spreading from her forehead to her cheeks. Her entire body glowed in green healing chakra as _Souzou Saisei_ took effect, the technique closing Sakura's wounds and healing the damage. But what emerged from the dust cloud Yugito's impact caused, was differently _not_ Yugito herself. Instead a giant nekomata the size of a large wolf, or small bear it was hard to tell, charged forward. Before the pink haired kunoichi could react the nekomata pounced and pinned Sakura to the ground, its fangs drawing dangerously close to her throat.

Jiraiya was about to interfere, but Naruto beat him to it, "Yugito!" Naruto's eyes glowed a dark crimson, staring into Yugito's own slitted green ones. The nekomata turned back to the pink haired kunoichi. "You lose," the nekomata hissed, before changing back into Yugito. The blonde punched Sakura in the face one last time before retrieving _Irkalla_, Jiraiya declared her the winner as she went to stand next to Naruto.

Naruto started to rub the base of Yugito's cat ears in an attempt to calm her down, and judging from the soft purr she gave off, it was working. Hinata wanted to help calm her down, but she knew it was too early to reveal where her loyalties lie, so she settled on sending over a comforting gaze. Naruto was a bit surprised that his wife had gotten so angry at Sakura. That wasn't like his wife, Yugito rarely expressed her emotions or let them show to others. This worried him, and not just because Yugito had turned into her full demonic form. But there were other matters to deal with, "Don't kill anyone," Naruto whispered into Yugito's ear before walking out of the contestant's box.

Naruto found Hiashi, Neji and Hanabi in their own private box, perfect, then he could talk to all three of them without worrying about being interrupted. "May I speak with you, Hiashi-sama?"

"About what, Uzuma... Namikaze-san?" Hiashi said, catching himself before he finished saying Uzumaki.

"It's about your daughter... and the rest of your clan," Naruto answered, turning his head to look in the arena where Lu Bu and Tenten were about to start their match. Naruto waited for Hiashi to respond but when he received none he continued, "How long as it been, Hiashi-sama, that you have let your clan elders run things behind your back? How long was it before you stopped them from interfering with Hinata-chan's training with _Inahime_? How long have you let tradition divide your family?"

"What are you trying to say?!" Hanabi yelled, slightly angry at what Naruto was saying.

"I'm saying that fools who can not change traditions, will only hinder future generations. I'm saying that traditional old fools should be cut down before they have a chance to ruin anything," Naruto said, directing a glare to the younger Hyuga girl.

"Are you threatening Hiashi-sama?" Neji said, putting himself between Naruto and the Hyuga leader.

"No, but I'll ask this of you, Neji," Naruto turned his head back to the arena where Lu Bu was spinning Sky Piercer in front of him, blocking all of Tenten's thrown weapons. "How long are you going to remain a servant to them? How long are you going to remain in constant fear that the seal on your forehead will be used against you?" Naruto paused here, waiting to see what their reaction would be.

"What are you suggesting?" Hiashi said, breaking the silence.

"It is as I have said, those who do not have the sense to think of the future, should be cut down. I will leave you now, but how long Hiashi, how long are you going to wait?" With that Naruto vanished within a vortex of fire, content in knowing that there was a chance of the Hyuga joining Kumo... or at least the side branch of the clan, it didn't matter either way.

Down in the arena, Lu Bu continued to spin Sky Piercer in front of him, deflecting all of the thrown weapons. He'd admit, with all of the weapons thrown at him he'd been forced to remain on the defensive and wouldn't be able to counterattack. He did, however, have a few tricks that he could pull that would turn this match around in his favor real fast... but where was the challenge in that? Besides, he'd need some amusement before the real fun would begin... this kunoichi would have to do.

Halting Sky Piecer's rotation as the rain of weapons ceased, Lu Bu shouted out, "Is that the best you've got?! Come, surely you could do better then that!" Tenten's response was to pick up a double-bladed naginata, giving it a small twirl before settling into a defensive stance. "Now this should be entertaining!" Lu Bu shouted, charging forward.

Tenten was immediately placed on the defensive, unable to mount her own attack as the multiple blades of Sky Piercer continued to hound her. Block vertical strike and push up, bring the naginata down to block the other blade and push off to the side... there... thrust the naginata forward towards her opponents chest... spin off to the side to avoid Sky Piercer while bringing the naginata in a horizontal slash. Tenten wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold off the dark armored warrior. The bun-haired girl continued her spin, bringing the other blade of the naginata at Lu Bu's neck. In a sound of metal on metal, Sky Piercer was brought up to block the strike, inches away from Lu Bu's throat.

A kick sent the bun-haired kunoichi flying across the arena, Tenten managed to right herself and land on her feet, skidding to a stop. She charged once more, and before she knew what had happened, she was sent flying through the air again. When she pushed herself to her feet, she noticed two things; the first was that Sky Piercer had been separated into two double-bladed halberds, and the second was that the pole of her double-bladed naginata had been shattered. Thinking quickly she jumped into the air, the scattered weapons following as her chakra took the form of dozens strings and attached themselves to the weapons. With a flick of her wrists the weapons mistress let the projectiles fly at Lu Bu. Tenten flipped herself around, taking out a smaller scroll and letting lose the weapons sealed within, smirking in satisfaction as the dust cloud increased in size as each weapon rained down on the armor-clad warrior.

Tenten frowned when the dust settled to show all of her weapons imbedded into the ground, but no sign of Lu Bu. The weapons mistress screamed out as something collided with her back and she was sent flying into the ground. The dust settled once again to show Tenten unconscious, Lu Bu standing over her. "Well I'll admit," Lu Bu said, lowering his head slightly, "That fight was interesting." To those who really knew him, they knew it was the closest thing to a complement he would give.

Jiraiya declared him the winner and was about to call the next match when Keiji yelled out, "Proctor, I'll forfeit!" Turning his head so only Yugito could hear him he said, "I'll get plenty of fun later."

Shrugging Jiraiya called out, "Then will Kiba Inuzuka of Konohagakure and Naruto Namikaze of Kumogakure please come down into the arena!" Kiba shouted in joy as he jumped down into the arena, followed closely by Akamaru. Naruto simply appeared opposite of Kiba in a vortex of fire, _Benitsune_ already in hand.

"You're going down, dead last," Kiba said, trying to be intimidating.

"We shall see, mutt. But first I think I'll even this match up a little," as Naruto finished saying that a small poof of smoke erupted next to him. When the smoke cleared a pink four tailed kitsune, the same size as Akamaru, stood next to the kitsune lord. "This is Akemi, she'll be dealing with Akamaru while I fight you, Inuzuka," Naruto said, his free hand running through Akemi's fur. "Now, be good girl and don't play too long." Akemi nodded before charging at Akamaru, the white dog barely able to jump back and out of the way.

"I'll show you once and for all that dogs have always been better then foxes," Kiba said, lowering himself into a crouch, arms spread to his side and nails elongated into claws.

"Hmph... come and try," was Naruto's casual reply, almost sounding as if he was bored. This, of course, angered Kiba and caused him to charge forward in a fit primal rage. Naruto simply jumped over the enraged Inuzuka, planting his foot on Kiba's back and kicking off, causing Kiba to go head first into the ground. This only drove Kiba further into an animalistic rage, causing the teen to blindly charge at Naruto, trying to hit the kitsune lord with his claws.

When Kiba saw that he was not landing a hit on Naruto, he jumped into the air yelling "_Tsuuga_!" as he became nothing more then a raging tornado of fangs and claws. Naruto easily sidestepped, lashing out with _Benitsune_, hitting the spinning Inuzuka several times, the strikes counteracted the spin and caused Kiba to crash into the ground. Kiba once again charged at the Namikaze, attacking with his claws, however, unlike last time when Kiba was close enough he started to spin. The Inuzuka launched another _Tsuuga_ at Naruto, this time Naruto had little time to react and was hit in the chest. Unable to keep his footing, Naruto was thrown backwards, though Akemi caught him before he had a chance to impact against the wall.

"Let's go Akamaru!" The white dog barked once before transforming into an exact copy of Kiba. "_Gatsuuga_!" Both copies of Kiba turned into the raging tornado, and launched themselves at Naruto and Akemi. The two kitsunes jumped out of the way, the two tornadoes turned, following the two kitsunes as they tried to dodge the attack. Eventually Naruto was starting to get annoyed and one of his nine tails began to glow yellow, lightning sparked into his free hand and he slammed it into vortex that was Kiba, the electrical current interrupted the rotation and blasted Kiba back. Akemi let loose a chakra enhanced howl, causing Akamaru to cease his own attack and return to his natural form.

"I've had enough of this," Naruto said, _Benitsune_ lighting up in red lightning. The kitsune lord disappeared in a flash of red and reappeared behind Kiba, Benitsune raised above his head. "Kiba Inuzuka, for the threat against my mate... you shall die." Kiba barely rolled away from the vertical slash, only to be hit in the back by a blast of pure red chakra.

Naruto was going to deliver the final blow, but Da Ji's voice rang out, stopping his blade inches away from the Inuzuka's spine, "Oh Naruto! Before you do that, I have several 'gifts' for you." Once she was done, Sun Wukong floated down into the arena on his cloud, dropping a hogtied Mizuki next the Kiba. Da Ji didn't stop there, appearing behind the Konoha Civilian Council they all disappeared in a swirl of fire. Naruto wisely jumped away as the council landed on top of both Kiba and Mizuki. "Have fun?" Da Ji said in that sing-song voice of her's, appearing next to Orochi once more.

Naruto smirked, motioning to both Yugito and Hinata, together the three of them created a triangle surrounding the civilian council. Hinata raised _Inahime_, firing hundreds of both chakra and regular arrows and shouting, "For Naruto-kun!" Yugito held _Irkalla_ high above her, bringing it down and sending out a wave of pitch black fire. The flames covered those in the center even as Yugito called out, "The Shinigami calls!" Naruto concentrated a massive amount of his chakra into his hand, forming a large red orb, and threw it. The orb hit mixed with the flames, a blast rocketing into the sky, Naruto's soft whisper echoing in the arena, "_Owari Da_."

A purple aura exploded out from Orochi, sending both Himiko and Da Ji flying in opposite directions and blocked the serpent king from view. When he came into view, Orochi's armor turned pitch black, his hair white, his serpent-like eyes a brilliant emerald and his skin the color of ash. Da Ji could barely continue her glee, he finally returned to his true form. Now the real fun could begin… Konoha would feel the wrath of not one, not two, not three… but four demons. And within the fires of Konoha's destruction, Orochi-sama's raise to power would begin once more.

* * *

It's been ages since I've worked on this I know and I'm sorry for the delay. Recently I have been working on another one of my stories called "Angel of Death", if you haven't already seen it then I recommend that you do. So, Orochi now looks like Shin Orochi from Warriors Orochi 2 in case anyone was wondering about his appearence. Other then that there really isn't much to say about this chapter. Except, maybe, which fight did you like the best.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I shall see you next chapter... whenever I get the chance to write that out.


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